The Supreme Court’s Registrar Office declined to consider a petition on Monday that challenged what was termed as “political victimisation” and the denial of the “right to fair trial” for ousted Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. The petition sought relief for Imran Khan, who had faced rejected pre-arrest bail pleas on technical grounds in various cases.
Filed on behalf of Imran Khan, the constitutional petition invoked Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, urging the court to safeguard the petitioner’s fundamental rights and overturn the dismissals of pre-arrest bail pleas by trial courts. The petition additionally requested that the relevant authorities be restrained from arresting the PTI chief in cases where his pre-arrest bail applications were dismissed without proper consideration of the merits, thereby ensuring a fair trial process.
However, the apex court’s registrar office deemed the petition “not entertainable” and subsequently returned it. In the official notice, the registrar’s office noted that the petition failed to identify the specific questions of public importance related to the enforcement of Fundamental Rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. As such, the notice stated that the petition did not provide sufficient grounds to directly invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
This development marks a setback for Imran Khan’s legal efforts to challenge the rejection of pre-arrest bail pleas on technical grounds. The decision by the Supreme Court’s registrar office raises questions about the eligibility of the petition to be heard directly by the court, based on the criteria outlined in the Constitution. The rejection of the petition has added to the ongoing legal and political discourse surrounding the former prime minister’s legal battles and allegations of political victimization.
