A petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Akhtar's brother-in-law, Abdur Rehman Mahmood, on October 12, 2004, challenging Akhtar's arrest and seeking his appearance before the court. The petitioner also sought a court order to prevent possible deportation of Akhtar to another country.[6] The petition was thrown out on January 18, 2005. The petitioner was instructed to move the High Court by filing a habeas corpus writ petition.