Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Monday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the registrar’s decision to return their petitions seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case.
The couple filed a chamber appeal through their counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, under Order V, Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2025, asking the apex court to overturn the registrar’s June 29 decision.
The petitions had challenged the Islamabad High Court’s April 30 order, which refused to suspend their sentences in the high-profile corruption case.
In the appeal, the petitioners argued that the registrar’s office has only administrative and procedural authority over the filing and processing of cases and cannot decide issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
They further contended that, under Article 175-A of the Constitution, judgments, decrees, final orders and sentences of high courts are appealable before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) where expressly provided by law, and argued that this legal aspect was overlooked when their petitions were returned.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether the registrar’s decision should be set aside and the petitions heard on their merits.