LHC rejects plea to halt PTI founder 's jail trial, adjourns hearing on Jan 22

Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday dismissed the plea of PTI founder Imran Khan seeking an immediate cessation of the jail trial in the election commission contempt case and decided to adjourn the further hearing of the case until January 22.

A three-member bench, presided over by Justice Alia Neelam, heard the petition.

Imran Khan had previously challenged the contempt of the election commission case and its subsequent jail trial on December 9.

The petition, submitted by his legal representatives Salman Akram Raja and Barrister Samir Khosa, included the federal government, the Election Commission of Pakistan, and the Adiala Jail superintendent as parties.

Imran Khan argued that the ECP had initiated proceedings for contempt without the legal authority to do so.

The Lahore High Court's decision to reject the application implies that the jail trial will proceed as scheduled, leaving the former Prime Minister to challenge the notification in the apex court.

The court, led by Justice Miss Alia Neelam, issued notices to the election commission and other relevant parties, seeking their responses.

During the hearing, the ECP's counsel apprised the full bench of the notification concerning Imran Khan's jail trial. He informed the court that the Punjab Home Department issued the jail trial notification in the contempt of ECP case on December 8.

Highlighting that Adiala Jail falls within the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi, the court directed the petitioner's counsel to challenge the jail trial notification.

The counsel affirmed his intention to challenge the notification and requested the court to set the application for consideration in the upcoming days.

Justice Alia Neelam advised the lawyer to file a formal challenge before deciding on the application.

In response to the court's inquiry, the council explained that notices were received at Zaman Park when Imran Khan was in Lahore.

Reporter: Malik Ashraf