PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court grants seven days’ protective bail to PTI activist Sanam Javed and directs her to contact her relevant court jurisdiction.
Sanam Javed had filed a petition seeking details of cases registered against her and requesting protective bail. The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Khurshid Iqbal. During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer informed the court that Sanam Javed had recently been released from jail and that she suspected several criminal cases might still be pending against her, though she did not have complete knowledge of them. The counsel argued that protective bail should be granted so that she could safely appear before the relevant trial courts to seek appropriate legal relief.
Sanam Javed also submitted before the court that she had been regularly attending court proceedings. However, she claimed that the previous day, she was arrested again immediately after leaving a courtroom, despite cooperating with ongoing trials.
The bench, after hearing the submissions, remarked that since no FIRs were presented before the court, it would not be appropriate to issue indefinite protective bail. The judges questioned why the petitioner had approached this court rather than the high court of the relevant jurisdiction. However, in consideration of the circumstances, the bench agreed to grant seven days of protective bail, allowing the petitioner time to appear before the proper legal forums.
The petitioner’s lawyer pleaded with the court to extend the duration of the bail, noting that the applicant was a woman who had already served time in jail and had just recently been released. He argued that she needed more time to respond to legal matters in multiple forums.Justice Sahibzada Asadullah responded that while the court respected the petitioner’s situation, the absence of any FIRs in the court record limited their ability to extend bail beyond a short duration. He added that if official FIRs were submitted, the court might consider granting a longer period of protective relief.
Ultimately, the court issued a ruling granting seven days of protective bail to Sanam Javed. It further directed that she should not be arrested in any existing case during this period, enabling her to contact the relevant trial courts for further legal action.
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