The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declined a plea requesting instructions for a trial court to promptly adjudicate on a bail application filed by former minister Fawad Chaudhry.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq presided over the hearing of the application, which highlighted that the Islamabad Accountability Court-I judge had not yet taken up Chaudhry’s bail application despite its submission. Chaudhry is currently detained in relation to a corruption case.

Also Read: Yasmin Rashid’s bail plea in May 9 Dismissed by Lahore ATC

The application urged the court to compel the accountability court to expedite the hearing of the bail plea.

Rejecting the plea, Justice Farooq mentioned that the accountability court judge, Muhammad Bashir, was indisposed, and a new judge, Nasir Javed Rana, had recently assumed the position.

Upon Chaudhry’s lawyer’s request for the new judge to address the application, the IHC chief justice indicated that it would not be appropriate as Rana holds seniority in the judiciary.

“We will wait until the next hearing of the case. If the trial court fails to address the application, then we will issue directives,” Justice Farooq remarked.