- Islamabad chief commissioner files plea through advocate general.
- Petition says relevant parties were not issued notices by SC.
- PTI urges workers to fully respect Supreme Court’s directives.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its decision to transfer jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Pakistan (PTI) founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital.
The petition was filed by the Islamabad chief commissioner through the advocate general for the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
The development comes a day after the SC ordered Adiala jail authorities to transfer the PTI founder to Shifa hospital for medical assessment and treatment within two days.
Imran, 73, has remained in prison since August 2023 following convictions he and his party describe as politically motivated. Since his ouster in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple legal cases.
A day ago, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the federal government will challenge the Supreme Court decision that ordered authorities to move jailed former PM Imran to a private hospital.
In the petition filed today, the federal government said the Supreme Court’s August 18 interim order directing that Imran Khan be transferred to a private hospital exceeded the court’s jurisdiction and should be reviewed.
“It seems the above statutory provision escaped notice of the Honourable Court, thereby resulting in an error which is floating on the surface of the record. Had the Court taken note of the above-noted provision of law, the order under review could not have been passed. The same, therefore, merits to be reviewed,” the petition contended.
The petition further stated that Imran Khan was sentenced to three years in prison by an Additional Sessions Judge on August 5, 2023. He later filed an appeal against the sentence before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The plea maintained that the former premier requested to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for treatment, but the IHC rejected the request on March 12, after which an appeal was filed before the top court.
In the plea, the federal government argued that, in certain cases, approval from the government and action through the Inspector General of Prisons are required for shifting a prisoner to a hospital.
It added that prisoners transferred to hospitals must remain under police supervision. The petition also referred to Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, which sets out the procedure for transferring a prisoner from jail to a hospital.
The government further argued that Article 10A provides the right to a fair trial and due process of law.
According to the petition, the matter came before the Supreme Court for the first time, and notices were not issued to the relevant parties.
“[…] Article 10A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan guarantees the right to a fair trial and due process. Due process encompasses fair notice of hearing to both the parties. In the instant case, the Criminal Appeal was fixed for the first time and as such no notice of hearing has been issued by the bench nor leave to appeal has been granted by the Court. The petition itself raised serious questions as to its maintainability, which issue was raised by the law officer present in court,” it added.
The petition read that Imran had been regularly medically examined in the past and had received treatment from medical boards on several occasions.
It further argued that the court should have sought the opinion of medical experts before deciding on his transfer on health grounds.
SC ruling
In the SC order released on Tuesday, the court also ordered the constitution of a medical board to assess and treat Khan. It also ordered that Dr Uzma and the former premier’s personal physician be present during his medical assessment and treatment, with his family to bear the expenses.
Authorities were directed to transfer the ex-premier to the hospital under tight security and complete the necessary arrangements within a few days.
The court, however, warned that any violation of its directions could result in the withdrawal of facilities being provided to the PTI founder.
Following the ruling, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) welcomed the SC’s order and urged party workers to avoid gathering outside the medical facility.
