SC orders fresh hearing of Fawad Chaudhry's May 9 cases

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, ARY News 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.

Also read: May 9 riots caused Rs 190.7m loss to Punjab, SC told

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 Lahore High Court (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.

A single-judge bench of LHC headed by Justice Farooq Haider granted the bail against a surety bond of Rs500,000.

May 9 violence

Violent clashes were broken out across Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023.

The protests were held in remote and major cities as the party workers were agitated due to their chairman’s arrest, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order.

Army installations, including Corps Commander’s house in Lahore, had come under attack during the protests by PTI workers.

It is pertinent to mention that the PTI founder is named as main accused in all the May 9 riots cases.