A court in the federal capital on Tuesday declared a petition challenging the nikkah of the PTI chairman with Bushra Bibi admissible. Civil Judge Qudratullah announced the verdict reserved a day earlier after hearing arguments from Petitioner Mohammad Hanif’s lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi and other parties. The judge has issued notices to the PTI chief and Bushra Bibi, and adjourned the case till July 20. Last week, a district and sessions court in Islamabad overturned a decision of a civil judge who had rejected a petition against alleged non-Shariah nikkah of the former premier. Sessions Judge Azam Khan had remanding the case back to the civil court. He directed the court to decide on the matter keeping in view all legal points.

On May 13, Civil Judge Nasir Minullah declared the petition filed by Muhammad Hanif, seeking former prime minister and Bushra Bibi’s marriage to be declared illegal, inadmissible. The petitioner’s lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi had claimed that Bushra Bibi was in Iddat in January 2018 at the time of her nikkah as she got divorced in November. He had argued that marriage in the days of Iddat was illegal. The civil judge at one point inquired if the PTI chief’s marriage took place in Lahore, how did it fall in the jurisdiction of this court. Lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi told the court that the nikkahkhawan was taken from Islamabad. The court said the case was beyond its jurisdiction and inadmissible.

Later, the petitioner challenged the verdict in the sessions court, saying his arguments were not heard by the civil judge. His lawyer argued that according to Section 179, the case could be heard both in Lahore and Islamabad as the former premier and Bushra Bibi stayed in Islamabad after their nikkah.

 
Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP