ISLAMABAD, Aug 29 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended the imprisonment sentence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana criminal case and ordered to release him on bail.
The two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, in their eight-page judgment reserved on Monday and issued today, also ordered the former prime minister to submit surety bonds of Rs 100,000 to avail the bail.
The judgment said,”As the sentence given in the case is of short duration, the court considers that the petitioner is entitled to suspension of sentence and release on bail. The trial court’s sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 is suspended.”
It further stated that the trial court pronounced the sentence on the complaint of the Election Commission of Pakistan under the Election Act.
The Supreme Court’s Qaim Ali Shah case reference was also included in the written decision. It said that the top court had declared that it was the high court’s discretion to grant or deny bail.
The order also said that by accepting the plea of the accused, the decision of the trial court of August 5 “is suspended and the petitioner should be released on bail on filing a bond worth Rs100,000”.
The IHC said the jurisdiction of the trial court and other issues for consideration were not being determined in the order. The respondents had given detailed arguments on these issues, but they would be decided in the main appeal.
The court also gave a reference of the order of the Supreme Court in an appeal against the suspension of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sentence in the Avenfield property case. It said that the top court had expressed its displeasure on issuing lengthy orders in decisions pertaining to the suspension of the sentences.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar had announced a three-year jail term along with fine of Rs 100,000 to the former prime minister in the Toshakhana criminal case lodged by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
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