Court to hear all parties on Fawad Chaudhry's bail plea tomorrow

• ECP's request to adjourn until Thursday denied by court.
• Need time to prepare arguments on bail plea, said ECP lawyer.
• Hearing adjourned until 2 pm Wednesday. 

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court Tuesday said that it would hear the arguments of all the parties on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry's post-arrest bail plea tomorrow (Wednesday).

Additional District and Sessions Judge Faizan Haider Gillani heard Fawad's post-arrest bail plea in the sedition case filed against him on the complaint of ECP Secretary Omar Hameed.

The PTI leader was arrested from his Lahore residence on January 25, and is facing sedition charges for publicly “threatening” the members of the electoral body in a media talk. The case against the former federal minister was registered against him at the Kohsar Police Station.

The PTI leader is currently in Adiala Jail on judicial remand.

ECP's request denied

Earlier, the court had turned down the ECP's request for the adjournment of the hearing till February 2.

Amid the hearing, the ECP's lawyer Saad Hassan requested the court to grant him time till Thursday to prepare arguments on the bail plea and sought copies of the application.

He said: "I want to appear in court after reading the bail plea's copy."

However, Fawad's lawyer Babar Awan objected that Hassan did not need to prepare as he had given arguments on the matter earlier.

"I had given arguments on the matter of physical remand and not on the bail plea," Saad clarified.

Awan suggested: "Prosecution should give arguments today while the ECP can give the arguments tomorrow."

However, the court disregarded Awan's suggestion and remarked:

"No, [the court] will hear everyone's arguments on the bail plea together."

After this, the court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday at 2:15 pm.

The case

The FIR (No 69/23) was registered against the PTI leader under sections 153-A, 506, 505 and 124-A of PPC on the complaint of Secretary ECP Omar Hamid Khan, stating that the accused used threatening language against the commission and its members.

Speaking to the media and people, the accused threatened the ECP members and their families, the FIR stated.

The FIR indicates that Fawad had said the status of the ECP had been reduced to that of a ‘Munshi’ ( a clerk or a personal assistant).

The FIR, quoting Fawad, said those who become part of the caretaker government would be pursued until they were punished. He also said the people sitting in the government would be chased to their homes.