Cites PTI Chairman’s repeated failure to record statement and lack of supporting evidence
ISLANAABAD:
An additional district and sessions court in Islamabad has dismissed a private complaint filed by the PTI against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, some key ministers and police officers over alleged killing of party workers during the November 26, 2024 protest at Islamabad D-Chowk.
Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka dismissed the complaint after PTI president Gohar Ali Khan’s lawyer repeatedly failed to record his statement under Section 200 of the CrPC.
In his 17-page order, the judge observed that the complaint was filed on December 14, 2024, but Gohar was not present on the date of filing.
“On sixteen court dates, the complainant’s perfunctory statement was not recorded. On thirteen court dates, adjournments were requested on behalf of the complainant to record his perfunctory statement, which were granted,” the order said.
The court observed that under Section 200(2) of the CrPC, adjournments may be granted subject to payment of costs of not less than Rs 10,000. He noted that the court had shown leniency and imposed no costs despite the complainant repeatedly failing to record his statement or produce preliminary evidence.
The order said that during the previous hearing, the complainant was asked to record his statement, failing which “the law would take its own course”.
During the last hearing, advocate Sardar Khurram Latif Khan Khosa sought another adjournment, arguing that senior advocate Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa was on general adjournment.
The judge noted that counsel had been asked to produce an approved application showing that senior counsel was in general adjournment, but had failed to do so.
“No approved application for general adjournment of the learned counsel has been submitted to the court. No justification is available for further adjournment. Accordingly, the application for adjournment on behalf of the complainant is dismissed,” the order said.
The court said that despite numerous opportunities, the complainant did not make any statement in court and hence it had to look only at the contents of the complaint and the material on record.
He observed that Gohar had nowhere claimed that he was an eyewitness to the alleged incident.
The order notes that in paragraph seven of the complaint, Gohar alleged that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several provincial ministers were eyewitnesses, but none of them appeared before the court to record an opening statement in support of the complaint.
The court further observed that the central allegation against the respondents was that they had ordered or fired at PTI protesters.
Although the complaint mentions the names of 38 injured people, none of them was produced in court to record a preliminary statement. Similarly, the order states that no medico-legal report has been recorded to substantiate the allegations regarding the injured.
The complaint also referred to 12 people who allegedly died during the incident, but the court noted that no autopsy report was produced.
The judge observed that in paragraph 13 of the complaint, the complainant had stated that he wanted to obtain autopsy reports, medico-legal reports and other evidence in the legal proceedings and had undertaken to produce them before the court. However, the order noted that despite a delay of approximately 19 months, no such report had been produced.
The court observed that to substantiate such allegations, it was necessary to establish that the deaths were due to violence attributable to a particular person. “Nothing has been recorded that twelve people died due to unnatural death or violence,” the order said.
The judge highlighted the importance of forensic and forensic evidence in criminal proceedings, emphasizing that forensic science plays a central role in the criminal justice system and is part of the right to a fair trial guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution.
He also noted that no death certificate or autopsy report was attached to the complaint.
The court further observed that the complaint itself stated that former KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, former NA Opposition Leader Omar Ayub and former first lady Bushra Bibi were inside the bulletproof container which was allegedly attacked and was later set on fire.
According to the judge, these individuals were described by the complainant as eyewitnesses, but none appeared in court to record statements supporting the allegations. The order further stated that no witness schedule was filed with the complaint.
The court also considered the plaintiff’s allegation that the hospitals refused to cooperate in providing autopsy reports and handed over the bodies after obtaining written statements from the legal heirs that the deceased died in accidents.
The judge observed that even if this allegation was accepted as argument, the legal heirs remained free to obtain autopsies at hospitals of their choice. He said even after the burial, an application for exhumation could have been filed to determine the actual cause of death.
“If twelve people had died as a result of violence, the complainant or others could have filed an application for exhumation of their bodies before the learned magistrate to determine the cause of death.”
She ruled that the complainant had not attached any sufficient evidence to justify the continuation of the case. The order said that although photocopies of newspaper clippings in three volumes had been attached, no video footage or USB drive containing evidence of the alleged incident had been submitted.
She also observed that the complaint did not identify the journalists or others who reported the alleged incident.
On November 26, 2024, the LEA cracked down on PTI protesters who had converged on Islamabad to pressure the PML-N government to release Imran Khan.
The PTI later claimed that at least a dozen of its workers had died in a brutal state crackdown. The party then filed a complaint against Prime Minister Shehbazf, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Atta Tarar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, IG of Islamabad Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and others.
