Attorney General Ifran Qadir has said that four judges of the Supreme Court (SC) bench hearing petitions against contempt law were prejudiced, according to a TV channel.
The AG remarked Thursday as SC bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani resumed hearing 27 identical petitions filed against the law.
Justice Jawad Khawaja questioned why was the constitution of the bench not objected for the last ten days.
The AG replied that he war told to remain silent by the judges.
Justice Khawaja and Chief Justice Iftikhar said: “This is not the first time you have raised objections over the constitution of a bench.”
Prior to this also, you have raised objections to the constitution of benches in different cases, the chief justice said, adding that if the attorney general had brought the matter up earlier, 10 days of hearings would not have gone to waste.
Chief Justice Iftikhar moreover said that the attorney general was making an accusation that he could not prove, adding that, Qadir should not try to defame the judges.
The chief justice said the attorney general was not simply a counsel for the federal government and that providing assistance to the court was among his duties.
AG objects over four judges in contempt law case
