The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan on Thursday released a detailed judgement in the May 9 cases against the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
The four-page decision was written by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was granted bail in eight May 9 cases on Thursday. The court directed him to submit surety bonds of Rs100,000 in each case.
The Supreme Court said in its verdict that the Lahore High Court (LHC) discussed merits in the bail case. Evidence related to alleged conspiracy will be examined during the trial itself, the Supreme Court said in its detailed verdict.
The Supreme Court said that scrutiny of evidence against the PTI founder is necessary. It said that only the trial court can examine the evidence. It said the Lahore High Court gave final observations on evidence in Khan's bail case.
According to the prosecution, the PTI founder conspired to commit the charges listed in the cases. The prosecution drew the court's attention to three witnesses and electronic evidence. The prosecution took the stand that the cases of Ijaz Chaudhry, Hafiz Farhat and others were separate from the founder.
The verdict says that observations of the Supreme Court on the merits of the case may affect the trial. The best forum to prove the charges of conspiracy against the petitioner is the trial court, the Supreme Court ruled.
The accused have been granted bail in other cases of the same nature, the Supreme Court observed. Keeping in view the continuity, the petitioner is granted bail, Supreme Court stated.