ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) has nullified a Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict, ordering a fresh hearing of former minister Fawad Chaudhry’s May 9 cases, media reported. A three-member bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi rejected a plea to halt Fawad Chaudhry’s trials until a final verdict, leaving the decision on trial injunctions to the high court.
Chief Justice Afridi stated that any ruling must be made in the presence of both parties to ensure no one’s rights are compromised, and he summoned Fawad Chaudhry and the Punjab government’s counsel to his chamber for discussions. The Chief Justice said that he will satisfy both parties in the chamber, noting that trials have been ongoing until midnight, as highlighted by Chaudhry himself. Afridi stated that he (Fawad) should be grateful that the courts are functioning, despite concerns that a Supreme Court decision could impact the cases of either side.
He revealed receiving reports from anti-terrorism courts and remarked on the surprising nature of Chaudhry’s arguments from the previous day, pointing out that all courts had considered his absence requests.
Chief Justice Afridi noted that courts have already addressed case disposal and stressed that video link appearances from any city are now feasible. In a separate development, earlier, the LHC granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist, Sanam Javed, in a case related to sharing anti-state posts on social media and inciting voilence against state institutions. –Agencies
