The Supreme Court on Friday approved former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s post-arrest bail in the cipher case against surety bonds of Rs1 million each.
A three-member bench, headed by interim Chief Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, conducted the hearing.
During the court proceedings today, the top court also heard the petition against Khan and Qureshi’s October 23 indictment.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Masood remarked that the indictment that was challenged was already nullified by the IHC on November 21.
As a result, Khan and Qureshi’s Oct 23 indictments in the case also stood null and void, and the trial was conducted again.
Justice Masood said that the fresh indictment will not be affected by the previous proceedings that were declared invalid by the IHC.
At this, the former PM’s counsel Hamid Khan argued that the trial was taking place on the previous charge sheet.
Justice Masood noted that the petition against the old charge sheet has become infructuous. “If you have an objection to the fresh indictment then challenge it in the high court,” the judge told the lawyer.
To this, Hamid requested the court to wait for the IHC’s decision today against the in-camera trial in the cipher case.
Khan’s other counsel Barrister Salman Safdar said that Hamid had made amendments to his petitions, requesting the court to take it as a fresh one.
The court then adjourned the hearing on the plea against indictment and took up the bail petitions.
