Imaan, Hadi submit fresh documents in Supreme Court ahead of PECA case hearing

ISLAMABAD: Human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha have submitted additional documents before the Supreme Court of Pakistan ahead of Tuesday’s hearing on their plea challenging the Islamabad High Court’s refusal to grant interim relief in the controversial social media posts case.

The documents were submitted through their counsel Faisal Siddiqi and include charge sheets issued on different dates, statements recorded before the trial court and related judicial orders.

The petitioners requested the apex court to place the documents on record in the interest of justice, arguing that the material was “essential and relevant” for adjudication of the case.

According to the application, the documents could not be submitted earlier because the paper books had not been prepared by the Islamabad High Court at the time the appeals were filed, while the trial record became available only afterwards.

A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui is set to hear the appeals on May 12.

In December 2025, Imaan Mazari and her husband had approached the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the IHC’s decision denying interim relief in the case linked to controversial social media posts.

The petition argued that the high court had “erroneously and illegally refused” to exercise its discretion to stay the criminal proceedings, maintaining that recording evidence in the couple’s absence violated Section 353 of the Criminal Procedure Code as well as their constitutional rights to due process and fair trial under Article 10A of the Constitution.

Earlier, on April 30, the couple also filed appeals against the IHC’s February 19, 2026 order through which the high court admitted their appeals against conviction but declined to suspend their sentences.

While issuing notices to respondents on the suspension plea, the IHC had stopped short of granting relief to the petitioners.

The appeal before the Supreme Court requests suspension of the sentence awarded by the trial court until the final disposal of the criminal appeal pending before the Islamabad High Court.

On January 24, a trial court sentenced Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to a combined 17 years imprisonment on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

The couple were handed 10-year sentences under Section 10 relating to cyber terrorism, five years under Section 9 concerning glorification of an offence, and two years under Section 26-A dealing with false and fake information.