ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court, after the completion of arguments by defence and prosecution, Thursday reserved the verdict in Panama Papers case and said it would announce a detailed judgment at a later stage.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmad, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, heard the case, filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others seeking investigation into Panama Papers.

Justice Asif Khosa observed that 26,000 pages were submitted in the case and the judges will peruse these documents. He said it is not a case where a short order may be passed.

Justice Asif Khosa remarked that the court will decide the case only going through the material and documents and will announce its verdict in accordance with the law and Constitution.

During the proceedings, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan also questioned the authenticity of the PTI documents, submitted in the court to establish the petitioner’s claim regarding London properties.

He remarked that the court cannot give a judgment on the basis of disputed material. “Are we supposed to put aside the normal law of land and entertain the documents which have not come through proper channel?” he questioned.

However, Justice Asif Khosa observed: “If we do not entertain PTI documents, then Sharif family’s documents will not also be accepted on the same basis.”

He remarked that if the court applied the same principle, then 99 per cent of the documents would not be considered.

Justice Khosa also observed that it was unfortunate that a trend had developed that justice is only done when it is in favour. He said if a court issues a verdict against anyone, then it is deemed that the judge has not done a good job.

Meanwhile, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed appeared before the bench and submitted a list of 371 questions which were raised by the SC bench during the hearing of the case but respondents’ counsels did not give formal replies to those queries.

In his concluding remarks, PTI counsel Naeem Bukhari replied to the arguments, given in the court.

Before conclusion of the proceedings, PTI chief Imran Khan and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq came to rostrum and briefly expressed their views.