ISLAMABAD: Acting Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has constituted a larger bench to hear cases related to meetings with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail.
The Acting CJ of IHC Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar will head the larger bench, which will comprise Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Azam Khan.
The bench will hear more than 20 cases which are related to meeting with Imran Khan.
Earlier, a single bench comprising Justice Dogar had directed that all cases related to meetings with Imran Khan be consolidated and heard by a larger bench. He had issued the directions while hearing a petition from Adiala Jail Superintendent Abdul Ghafoor Anjum, who sought the consolidation of case related to the meetings of Imran Khan.
The jail superintendent moved the court through his counsel Advocate Naveed Malik and adopted the stance that meeting SOPs had already been settled in an intra-court appeal, yet multiple benches were handling similar petitions. He maintained that the superintendent, responsible for thousands of inmates, had to appear before the IHC five days a week, making case consolidation essential for efficiency.
The petitioner complained of multiple pending petitions related to Imran Khan’s visitation rights and conflicting judgments by the courts on the issue. He contended, “In the interest of judicial consistency it is imperative that all related cases listed be consolidated before a single or larger bench to ensure uniform adjudication and effective enforcement of judicial directives.”
“The failure to grant this petition would result in irreparable harm to the applicant and compromise the efficient administration of prison affairs,” said Anjum.
Adiala Jail Superintendent Anjum highlighted that Khan was being accommodated as per the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) agreed in March 2024, and was allowed to meet lawyers, family and friends on two designated days in the week.
The petition stated, “Under Article 5 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, all executive and judicial authorities bear an inviolable duty to uphold the Constitution and statutory law.”
“The pendency of multiple similar petitions regarding Respondent No. I is visitation rights before different benches of the IHC and the issuance of conflicting judgments has created operational difficulties and uncertainty for the prison administration,” maintained the petitioner.
Therefore, he prayed that the related cases be transferred to a single bench or a larger bench of this court to ensure uniformity adjudication and the effective implementation of judicial orders in the interest of justice.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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