The supreme court had termed his arrest illegal after he was presented before a three-member bench with Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah.
The bench had ordered the NAB (Nation Accountability Bureau) to present Mr Khan by 4:30 pm (local time) he was escorted amid tight security and Justice Bandail greeted Mr Khan with a good to see you, the hearing ended with the top judge’s announcement that the bench believed Mr Khan was not guilty they further added that said that the Islamabad High Court should hear the case on Friday. “You will have to accept whatever the high court decides,” the judge added.
Further Bandail questioned the infringement of human rights as an individual was arrested from court premises “How can anyone be denied the right to justice?” he asked.
The court also observed that no one could be arrested from the court without the permission of the court’s registrar. It observed that the arrest was tantamount to denying access to justice without fear and intimation, which was the right of every citizen.
Further questioning the arrest the chief justice asked “If an individual surrendered to the court, then what does arresting them mean?” the chief justice said.
Khan’s counsel Hamid Khan informed the court that his client had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking a pre-arrest bail but was arrested by paramilitary Rangers.
“Rangers misbehaved with Imran Khan and arrested him,” the lawyer said.
The court also took note of about 90 to 100 Rangers personnel entering the court to arrest Khan. “What dignity remains of the court if 90 people entered its premises? How can any individual be arrested from court premises?” the Chief Justice asked.
Chief Justice Bindail pointed out that NAB had committed a contempt of court “They should have taken permission from the court’s registrar before the arrest. Court staffers were also subjected to abuse,” he said.
Khan was arrested on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court and an accountability court on Wednesday handed him over to the National Accountability Bureau for eight days in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The former premier had on Wednesday approached the apex court to set aside the warrants of NAB of May 1 for his arrest and to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s decision to declare the arrest “unlawful”.
The IHC expressing his disagreement with the way Khan was nabbed but upheld his arrest hours after he was taken away .
