ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Wednesday, turned down the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA’s) petition seeking the cancellation of the bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the prohibited funding case.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri heard the FIA’s petition moved through Raja Rizwan Abbasi.
The IHC bench also rejected the FIA’s plea to cancel the bail of co-accused Tariq Shafi in this matter.
During the hearing, the FIA’s counsel informed the court that the PTI chairman has not joined the investigation. He requested the court to annul the bail granted by the banking court to Khan.
The counsel also told the court that the former prime minister in one of his interviews maintained that those funds belong to charity but were used for political purposes and the department needs to interrogate the former premier in this regard.
He adopted the stance that the said impugned order per se reveals that the same is bad in law and not tenable in law and ex-facie based upon whims and caprice. He added that the bail granting order is totally perverse, arbitrary under the facts and circumstances of the case.
He argued that the accused did not join the investigation, yet his bail has been confirmed illegally and unlawfully while it was totally ignored by the court that relief of pre-arrest bail is extraordinary in nature which can be allowed when malice is patent and in absence of any malice, grant of extraordinary concession is against the law.
Raja maintained that the accused flouted the process of law, he misused the concession of bail in different ways and never joined the investigation; yet this extraordinary concession was extended in his favour which was beyond the mandate of law.
He argued that admittedly, ill-gotten money was transmitted in the account of PTI and Khan is chairman of the said party while admittedly, no permission was sought from the Government of the UK or the UAE for collection of amount for any charitable purpose, etc., and whether the purpose was charitable or political, this is another question and later said fact aggravates the situation against accused.
The FIA counsel also argued that investigation is not simplicitor name of recovery, there are many avenues which are to be thrashed during the course of investigation and recovery is one of the component, absence of recovery does not mean person is entitled for pre-arrest bail as a matter of fact.
He continued that Khan has not cooperated during the course of the investigation, initially they appeared and when certain questions were put to them, they started delaying the matter and giving evasive answers on one pretext or the other.
Therefore, he prayed to the court that the instant petition may kindly be accepted and the bail granting order dated 28.02.2023 may graciously be set aside and bail granted to the accused/ respondent No1 may kindly be recalled/ cancelled in the best interest of justice.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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