- Hadi appears in court; Imaan represented by lawyers.
- SC ordered hearing of both parties before verdict.
- The verdict can be rendered on the basis of the available file: AAG.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered the trial court hearing a controversial social media case against Imaan Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to re-record witness statements within three days.
IHC judge Mohammed Azam Khan issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by Mazari, challenging the trial court’s November 19 order. Chatha appeared in court, while Mazari was represented by her lawyers.
“Merit is not taken into account. We direct the trial court to re-record the statements of the witnesses within three days. […] The Supreme Court has directed us to dispose of the matter at the earliest,” Justice Azam Khan remarked while hearing the case.
Defense lawyer Riasat Ali told the court that the Supreme Court had ordered that both sides be heard before making a decision.
During the hearing, the Deputy Attorney General said that all the records were present in court and maintained that the testimonies recorded so far were legally valid. “All the cases are before the court. A verdict can be made on this basis,” he said.
The IHC judge raised questions about trial procedures and the presence of legal representatives. “If Imaan Mazari was not present in court, was her litigant present? » asked Justice Azam Khan.
The court also sought clarification on the timeline for re-recording testimony. “How long will it take to re-record the testimonies? Justice Azam Khan asked the defense lawyer.
Lawyer Riasat requested more time, saying arguments on merits would be presented by Faisal Siddiqui. “If we want to hear the case on merits, we need time. Faisal Siddiqui will present the arguments,” he said.
Justice Azam Khan ordered the matter to be adjourned until tomorrow and asked Faisal Siddiqui to appear for arguments.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court last week issued directions to halt the trial of lawyer Mazari and her husband in the controversial tweets case.
A three-member SC bench comprising Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim heard and accepted Mazari’s plea against the verdict of the Islamabad High Court which had rejected the lawyer’s plea to stop the trial in the Additional Sessions Judges’ court.
The court, in its verdict, said the trial in the said case should be stayed until the decision of the IHC.
Mazari and Chattha were booked in a case registered by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under sections 9, 10, 11 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016 and were subsequently charged on October 30.
