Pakistan’s Supreme Court has reportedly returned an appeal filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking to overturn his three-year conviction in the Toshakhana corruption case.
The appeal was returned by the registrar’s office on Saturday, citing several deficiencies in the petition.
Imran Khan, 71, had filed the appeal through his counsel Latif Khosa under Article 185 of the Constitution, challenging the Islamabad High Court’s decision to reject a similar plea on December 11, 2023.
The High Court had rejected the plea, citing the absence of actual controversies or a chronology of past litigation.
Toshakhana case revolves around allegations that Khan violated state repository rules by illegally selling state gifts.
Supreme Court’s registrar’s office returned the appeal, noting deficiencies such as the lack of a concise statement, questions requiring consideration by the court, relevant facts, and events showing a breach of legal rights, as well as the absence of notices issued to respondents about the filing of the petition.
The court office instructed Khan’s lawyers to address these deficiencies within a fortnight by January 6, 2024.
The appeal argued that Khan had previously applied for the suspension of his three-year sentence, which was heard by the Islamabad High Court on August 28.
The petition claimed that the sentence suffered from jurisdictional defects and highlighted that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued a notification to disqualify Khan under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution on August 8, without giving him an opportunity to be heard.
The appeal further stated that the ECP notification, which led to Khan’s disqualification, was never communicated to him while he was in custody.
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