Lending support to the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to sentence Senator Nehal Hashmi for committing contempt of court, former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said Friday that the apex court has shown immense patience in the case of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the contempt case against Nehal Hashmi and sentenced him to spend one month in prison and submit Rs 500,000 fine. Apart from being disqualified from his post, Hashmi was also banned by the court from holding public office for five years under Article 63 (1) (g) of the constitution.
Speaking during a programme on a private news channel, Iftikhar Chaudhry said that Hashmi had shown complete disregard for the judiciary while directing indecent and harsh remarks at those who were investigating the Panama Papers case involving the Sharif family. The apex court adopted a principled stance and decided against sending the senator to prison on an immediate basis, he added.
The former chief justice also said that the court handled the situation with patience and instead issued contempt of court notice to Hashmi to inform him about the consequences of his actions. The court issued a contempt notice to Hashmi in July 2017 for making scathing remarks against the judiciary and those investigating the Sharif family on corruption charges.
Furthermore, Iftikhar Chaudhry said that the purpose behind arresting Hashmi was to educate him about the full extent of powers that could be exercised by the judiciary. He also said that the law also provided ways for people to get out of such a situation. “The person concerned can file an appeal to get relief from the court,” he added.
Talking in regard to Hashmi’s disqualification, the former chief justice said that a state institution had to show its authority and take action if someone directed wrong allegations against it.
Earlier, a three-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising of Justices Dost Mohammad and Maqbool Baqar, announced a verdict in Hashmi’s case. As a result, Hashmi was taken into police custody from court premises. He was initially taken to Secretariat Police Station and later shifted to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.