The Supreme Court suspended the sentences of prominent lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, and ordered their immediate release.The court granted bail to both lawyers against surety bonds of Rs100,000 each. The apex court accepted their applications for suspension of sentence and expressed concern and displeasure over the repeated adjournments of the case in the Islamabad High Court.Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that both were lawyers and the court was respecting their dignity, adding that they should also be told to observe courtroom decorum.

“There is a difference between a lawyer and an ordinary person,” he said. According to reports, an unusual situation arose at the beginning of the hearing when the case was listed before a three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed.Justice Shahid Waheed pointed out that a fire had broken out in the Supreme Court’s IT section the previous day, and the case had been mistakenly listed before their bench due to a technical error.

The case was later corrected and scheduled for hearing at 11:30am before a two-member bench headed by Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, which also included Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, read out various orders and order sheets from hearings in the Islamabad High Court. Faisal Siddiqui told the court that the Supreme Court had issued its first order on May 12, directing the High Court to decide the case within two weeks, but the High Court had not complied. 

He said former Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa used to say that a case could only be adjourned if the judge or lawyer died, but the Islamabad High Court had adjourned this case repeatedly without justification. He added that the High Court registrar’s office had rejected their request for an early hearing, saying that what happened there was extremely surprising. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim remarked, “These days, it is an era of surprises.”

During the hearing, when Additional Attorney General Rana Asad stood up to speak, the court directed him to sit down. Faisal Siddiqui smiled and remarked, “Of course, let him sit, but he is the one who has tired us out.” After hearing arguments from all sides, the court formally accepted the appeals against the High Court’s decision and the applications for suspension of sentence. It ordered the immediate release of Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha against surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)