The High Court has cancelled the appeal process of Sheikh Imran Abdulla, the jailed president of religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, after scheduling to resume hearings on Wednesday after a hiatus.
Sheikh Imran is serving a jail sentence of 12 years on terrorism charges for inciting violence during a major opposition protest held in May 2015. Following Imran’s appeal, a hearing on the case was last held in April 2016.
After 10 months, the scheduled appeal hearing was called off without declaring a reason for the cancellation or a new date for the hearing.
Though the appeal hearings were previously considered over, the changes brought to the Judges Bench with the transfer of Judge Shujau Usman, who presided over the case, to the Southern Branch of the High Court has mandated that another hearing be held for Sheikh Imran's appeal prior to the verdict.
The bench initially comprised of Judge Abdulla Didi and Judge Abdulla Hameed.
Judge Shujau is now replaced by Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, while the bench is chaired by Judge Abdulla Didi.
Though Imran was sentenced to jail, he was shifted to house arrest in mid-2016 over some maintenance work of the jail.
Sign In