Federal Constitutional Court Rejects Bushra Bibi’s Plea for Suspension of Sentence in 190 Million Pound Scandal; Verdict Reserved and Pronounced on Same Day
ISLAMABAD: The petition filed by Bushra Bibi seeking the suspension of her sentence in the high-profile scandal of 190 million pounds is now off the Federal Constitutional Court’s list.
The order rejecting the plea was issued by a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan after hearing the arguments made by the defence lawyer.
A summary of the key highlights of the court proceedings and the verdict.
Senior lawyer Salman Safdar, appearing on behalf of the Defense, said during the hearing that the courts have traditionally taken a tolerant attitude towards female convicts and claimed that the actions of NAB on this case in 13 months were questionable, citing multiple adjournments. He argued that after her conviction, a robust legal argument for bail had developed with the petition’s content based on how she was treated as a woman as opposed to much of the primary issues in the case being based on the appeals of the PTI’s founder.
Judicial Observations:The Chief Justice, Amin-ud-Din Khan, remarked that at the preliminary stage, arguments should not be based on the merits of the case as it was only discussing the narrow question of suspension of sentence. Justice Baqar Najafi asked about how many times the main appeal has been fixed for regular hearing.
The petitioner’s appeal against the dismissal of his plea for the petition was dismissed by the Federal Constitutional Court on the same day when the court reserved its verdict on the maintainability and merits of the petition filed by Bushra Bibi.