Govt files review plea against SC ruling to move Imran to Shifa International Hospital, terms it 'discriminatory'

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a review and recall of the SC order to shift incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan to Islamabad’s Shifa Inte­rn­ati­onal Hospital for medical examination and treatment.

The government’s review petition, filed by Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Hayat Malik on behalf of the federal capital’s chief commissioner a day after the SC’s ruling, termed the interim order “discriminatory”.

The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn, stated that the order was “in excess of jurisdiction” and, therefore, “liable to be reviewed”.

The plea further stated that the order “suffers from errors of law floating on the surface of the record”.

It argued that Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, which governs the manner and mode of the transfer of a prisoner to the hospital, had escaped SC’s attention in its ruling on Imran’s hospitalisation.

“Had the court taken note of the above-noted provision of law, the order under review could not have been passed,” the plea said.

Elaborating on Rule 197, the plea stated that it explained that government orders for the transfer of a prisoner would be obtained through the police inspector general (IG) in cases wherein a convicted or under-trial prisoner was to be admitted to the hospital for treatment.

However, in emergency cases, the jail superintendent was authorised to act as if the government sanction had been given, and if he did so, he should immediately inform the IG, the plea added, citing the rule.

Under the rule, in cases where a prisoner was to be moved to a hospital for an operation, the shifting should take place as close as possible to the time fixed for the operation, and the prisoner should be brought back to the prison hospital “as soon as this can conveniently be done”, the plea said.

Moreover, it contended that issuing directives for the treatment of a convict at a private hospital, and that too on the basis of a report that did not disclose any condition requiring immediate medical treatment, “will severely disturb the entire criminal justice system”.

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