SC returns govt's review plea against Imran’s transfer to Shifa Hospital

The Supreme Court (SC) recently returned a review petition filed by the federal government against its August 18 order for transferring incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital. The SC registrar's office cited incomplete paper books as the reason for returning the petition. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja responded by stating that the state had "withdrawn its review petition" in light of the court's objections.

He emphasized that Imran Khan must be transferred to Shifa International Hospital immediately for examination and treatment by a multidisciplinary medical board. On Tuesday, the SC had ordered the government to shift Imran to Shifa within two days for medical evaluation and treatment. The court's three-member bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and including Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim, issued interim directives for Imran's hospitalization, access to personal physicians and family members, and the exchange of his medical records with his family.

However, the government appealed to the SC on Wednesday, arguing that the directive was discriminatory and violated prison rules and principles of natural justice. The review petition claimed that the court's attention had not been drawn to Rule 197 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, which governs prisoner transfers to hospitals. If the court had considered this provision, the order under review would not have been passed.

The petition argued that ordering a convict's treatment in a private hospital, especially when no immediate medical condition was disclosed, would undermine the criminal justice system. It further contended that the directive favored Imran Khan unfairly, potentially prompting similar claims from other prisoners and potentially breaching the Constitution's principles of equality and non-discrimination.