The Supreme Court on Monday formally initiated contempt of court proceedings against property tycoon Malik Riaz of Bahria Town on charges of leveling harsh allegations against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. A two-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan began the proceedings against Malik Riaz. During the hearing, Attorney General Irfan Qadir submitted a list of witnesses that included the names of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain and Arsalan Iftikhar.
Justice Ejaz asked the attorney general what connection did the witnesses had with the contempt of court case. The judge remarked that the attorney general should have reviewed the list of witnesses, adding that the name of an important witness was not on the list. The bench also objected to the inclusion of the chief justice’s name in the list. Addressing Qadir, Justice Ejaz said there were allegations of bias against him, adding that how could the attorney general be allowed to act as a prosecutor in the case. Qadir said allegations of prejudice against him had been leveled by Arsalan Iftikhar. Justice Ejaz also inquired Qadir whether oath should be taken from a judge in case he/she was to appear as a witness. To this, the attorney general said judges had been appearing in courts in the past. Justice Ejaz asked Qadir whether he had previously acted as counsel for Riaz and whether he wanted to act as the prosecutor in the contempt of court case. Qadir said such restrictions existed for judges, not for the attorney general and that the case required of him to prosecute Riaz for contempt of court charges. Justice Ejaz said the bench had to assess whether Qadir could act as a prosecutor in the case independently.He said there were reservations over Qadir’s role as the prosecutor in the contempt of court case against Yousaf Raza Gilani. The bench, however, did not allow Riaz’s counsel Abdul Basit to present his arguments on the issue of the prosecutor. Basit said the proceedings were being carried out against Riaz and that his client had the right to stress that the procedures be carried out properly. He said the court did not have the authority to change the prosecutor in the case. Adjourning the hearing until September 20, the bench said a verdict in the case would be issued on the said date.
SC begins contempt proceedings against Malik Riaz
