Restoration of bail after PTI Chairman’s arrest ‘invalid’, says IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) bench, including Chief Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, has issued a written judgment regarding the high-profile case involving a 190 million pounds scam.

The court’s decision deems the petition for the restoration of bail for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman as invalid. The ruling emphasises that the arrest of the PTI Chairman has rendered the plea for bail restoration ineffective.

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The court further revealed that the trial court’s rejection of the bail application was under scrutiny for annulment. On August 10, the bail application of the PTI Chairman was turned down, leading to subsequent action by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) resulting in his arrest.

In response to the situation, the court conveyed that the PTI Chairman has the option to file a bail application after arrest in the concerned court. The court clarified that the absence of the PTI Chairman from the trial court was not deliberate.

Highlighting a key legal point, the court asserted that once the NAB has made the arrest, the application for the restoration of bail becomes ineffective. Furthermore, the court underscored its inability to review the legality of the PTI Chairman’s arrest within the context of the presented petition.