ihc reserves decision
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IHC reserves decision on Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chatth…

ByJustpaste.in

The Islamabad High Court on Friday reserved its decision on whether petitions seeking the suspension of prison sentences awarded to lawyers and human rights activists Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha can proceed.

The petitions relate to the couple’s convictions in a case involving alleged controversial social media posts under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

The hearing was conducted by Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, who considered preliminary arguments from both the prosecution and the defence before reserving his ruling on the maintainability of the petitions.

During the proceedings, lawyers representing the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) argued that the requests for suspension of sentence had been filed too early. They maintained that the court should first decide the prosecution’s objection challenging the admissibility of the petitions before considering any request for relief.

The prosecution submitted that hearing the suspension petitions before deciding its objection would make its legal challenge ineffective. It therefore requested the court to first determine whether the petitions were legally maintainable.

Counsel for Imaan Mazari and Hadi Chattha opposed the objection and said he was ready to argue the prosecution’s application immediately. He suggested that both the objection and the suspension requests should be heard together to avoid unnecessary delays in the proceedings.

The judge advised the defence to fully prepare its arguments, observing that doing so would better protect the legal rights of the convicted lawyers. However, the defence maintained that it was prepared to proceed without delay and formally waived any request for additional preparation time.

After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Azam Khan stated that the court would first determine whether the petitions seeking suspension of sentence were legally maintainable. Only after resolving that issue would the court consider the merits of the requests for suspension of the sentences.

At the end of the hearing, the Islamabad High Court reserved its decision on the prosecution’s objection. The ruling will determine whether the petitions can move forward for further consideration.

Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha were convicted by a sessions court earlier this year and received a combined sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment on multiple charges under PECA

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