The Supreme Court postponed on Monday at the hearing of the deposit filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan until August 12.
The founder of the PTI had approached the Court of Apex after the rejection of his deposit requests in the difference in May 9 by the High Court of Lahore (LHC).
The adjournment followed a request from the legal representative of Salman Safdar, Salman Akram Raja, who asked the bench to reprogram the hearing for next week and to issue opinions accordingly.
The case was taken over by a bench of two members led by chief judge Yahya Afridi.
However, the bench refused the request to advance the hearing, choosing to postpone the procedure for almost two weeks. Petitions of liberation on bail should now be heard on August 12.
The LHC, led by judge Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, had previously rejected Imran’s surety, citing his alleged involvement in the planning of attacks against military facilities in anticipation of his arrest on May 9, 2023.
Imran appealed to the Supreme Court on July 26, arguing that the accusation had presented three contradictory stories binding it to the alleged conspiracy, which were all rejected by various courts.
The first version concerned two police officials, Hassam Afzal and Asmat Kamal, who would have heard the plot on May 7 and 4, respectively.
This complaint was rejected by ATC-III Lahore due to late disclosure and insufficient evidence, leading to the deposit in First 366/23 and 1078/23.
The second version alleged an incentive through media statements, but failed due to a lack of incriminating equipment and was rejected by the LHC.
The third version was based on new witness declarations, including leaders of PTI Sadaqat Abbasi and Wasiq Qayyum, but was also incredulous by ATC-I Rawalpindi, who released the co-accused Bushra Imran on August 20, 2024.
Despite the rejection of the three versions by competent courts, the LHC rejected Imran’s surety on June 24, on the basis only of the two police officers.
Imran’s petition argues that the case is considered to be a more in-depth investigation, authorizing it when post-arrest arrest under article 497 (2) CRPC 1898.
