A three-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shafi Siddiqui, heard the case regarding suspension of the couple’s sentences and ordered that the matter would remain pending before the apex court until the high court issues its ruling.
In January, a district and sessions court in Islamabad sentenced the couple to 17 years imprisonment each under various sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, a day after they were arrested in another case.
The couple challenged their convictions in the Islamabad High Court in February.
During Tuesday’s hearing, their counsel Faisal Siddiqi told the court that the IHC had only issued notices on the appeals and had not resumed hearings for more than two months.
“Our clients have received no relief from the Islamabad High Court,” Siddiqi argued, requesting the Supreme Court to direct the high court to decide the sentence suspension applications.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan observed that the high court had neither passed an adverse order against the petitioners nor rejected their pleas for suspension of sentence.
“If the high court had dismissed the suspension pleas, then we could have examined the matter on merits,” Justice Afghan remarked.
Justice Shahid Waheed observed that the Supreme Court could instruct the IHC to decide the appeals within two weeks, while the defence counsel insisted that the high court should specifically be directed to decide the suspension applications.
