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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued show-cause notices to the Superintendent and Medical Officer of Adiala Jail on Thursday for their delay in transferring the custody of Mr. Shahbaz Gill to the Islamabad police for physical remand. The court also demanded that they submit written justifications by the date of the next scheduled hearing for the case.
Following a First Information Report (FIR) against him for allegedly instigating a mutiny within the military forces, a two-day physical remand to the Islamabad police was granted to Mr. Gill by Zeba Chaudhry, the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) of Islamabad.
With the assistance of attorneys Shuaib Shaheen and Faisal Hussain, Mr. Gill challenged the IHC’s remand decision. In a miscellaneous application, however, he claimed to have been tortured while in the custody of the Islamabad police.
Acting Chief Justice of the IHC, Justice Aamer Farooq, took up the application and summoned the Inspector General of Islamabad Police, the Superintendent of Police, and the Medical Officer of Adiala Jail on the same day.
The court requested written responses from the Medical Officer and Superintendent of Adiala Jail.
The Inspector General was questioned by him regarding the alleged mistreatment of Mr. Gill. The Inspector General strongly denied the allegation, affirming that the police had lawfully detained the accused.
Nevertheless, Mr. Gill’s attorney argued that the police had mistreated and tortured his client during the physical remand.
Upon examining Mr. Gill’s medical report, Justice Farooq asked the attorney to specify whether the report corroborated Mr. Gill’s torture claim.
At this juncture, the attorney referred to stories on social media, including tweets by certain journalists, as evidence of the alleged torture.
However, the acting chief justice highlighted that only medical professionals could provide evidence of such events. He also ordered a preliminary investigation into the situation and tasked the Inspector General with determining whether Gill had been subjected to abuse while in police custody.
Following the plea from Mr. Gill’s attorney for a court investigation into the torture endured by Mr. Gill, Justice Farooq announced that a decision would be made based on the preliminary report that the Inspector General of Islamabad police was to conduct.
The court inquired of the Adiala Jail’s Additional Superintendent why Mr. Gill had not been handed over to the Islamabad police on August 17, despite the release of Robkar at 4:30 p.m.
The court also queried when he had transferred Mr. Gill to the Islamabad police. The official replied that it was around nine o’clock at night.
Justice Farooq posed the same question to the medical officer, who informed the court that Mr. Gill’s health was unstable and that he had been suffering from asthma since childhood.
The court found these responses “unsatisfactory” and demanded written justifications and any relevant documentation from them by the next scheduled hearing date.
He warned that a contempt of court case would be filed against them if their responses failed to explain why the Islamabad police had not received Mr. Gill sooner.
Mr. Gill was granted the court’s permission to see his attorney.
The next hearing of the case was rescheduled for August 22.
