ISLAMABAD, Nov 16 (APP):The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a notice on Shoaib Sheikh’s request for permanent immunity in the appeals against his conviction in the Axact fake degree case and directed him to appear before the court at every hearing.
The Axact fake degree case was heard today at IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq’s court. The appeal filed against the conviction of Axact CEO Shoaib Shaikh and others is pending with the court since 2018.
During the hearing, Latif Khosa Advocate said that the court had ordered Shoaib Sheikh to appear at the last hearing. He pleaded the court to exempt Shoaib Sheikh from court attendance for the future.
The court inquired why these appeals had been pending for four years.
The FIA prosecutor said that when the conviction was announced on July 5, 2018, Shoaib Sheikh ran away from the court.
He said that Sheikh again ran away from the court when his bail was rejected.
He said that Shoaib Sheikh surrendered on September 28, 2018, then notices were issued, and on October 23, 2018, the sentence was suspended.
The FIA Prosecutor pleaded the court to withdraw the suspension of the conviction of Shoaib Sheikh and others and said Shoaib Sheikh did not appear during two hearings.
The Chief Justice said that it was a criminal matter, the appeal had been pending for four to five years and the accused were hiding from the court.
He said that the court could withdraw the bail, send them to jail and then fix the case for 2031.
The court asked Shoaib Sheikh’s lawyers to decide who would argue in the case.
The Chief Justice said that he had also written in Maryam Nawaz’s case that pending cases were a blemish on system.
The court directed Shoaib Sheikh to appear before the court on every hearing.
The court expressed its indignation at the FIA prosecutor’s repeated attempts to speak and also issued a notice on Shoaib Sheikh’s request for permanent immunity from appearance and adjourned the hearing for next week.
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