–Ex-Minister’s counsel requests court to delay judgement till elections
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday reserved its judgement in the contempt case against former state minister for interior, Tallal Chaudhry.
The three-judge bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmad reserved the decision and said the date of the announcement will be issued later. However, he added that the accused must appear in person on the day of the announcement.
Kamran Murtaza requested the bench to show restraint in this matter. He also referred to the Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri case wherein contempt proceedings against them were dropped. He also informed the court that the SC registrar had written a note to Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on February 1, 2018, stating that a video clip of his client was contemptuous and was creating hindrances in legal proceedings.
The note said that ‘contempt proceedings against Chaudhry should be taken up in compliance with Article 204. which deals with contempt of court against a high court or the Supreme Court’, Murtaza informed the court.
“The note was presented on February 1, and an order was issued on the same day, along with a notice,” he said. “However, my client had, in fact, said that disrespecting judicial mandate was the biggest contempt,” Murtaza added.
“The court had taken up contempt proceedings on two speeches [delivered by Chaudhry],” the judge observed, adding that he was unaware of the documents mentioned by the defence counsel. “The documents were sent to the CJP by the registrar through a note,” Murtaza said, adding that, “following the chief justice’s order, 22 speeches were collected.”
Chaudhry’s legal counsel further said that the proceedings against his client were taken upon the basis of two speeches that had a three-minute duration each. “The reasons for contempt were not listed in the notice,” he argued.
“According to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) DG Operations Haji Adam, all of the 117 channels on air are monitored. But there is nobody in Pakistan who can take up so much work,” Murtaza said.
Justice Ahmed responded back saying that there was definitely someone in Pakistan who was helping the country run effectively.
Murtaza responded by saying that even PEMRA had not taken an immediate notice of both speeches of his client.
“The court will not take lead from PEMRA to reach a verdict; it will base its decision on the law,” said Justice Ahmed.
Murtaza further requested the bench to announce the verdict after elections. Justice Gulzar, however, said that they are not setting a date for the announcement of the decision.
On March 15, SC indicted Chaudhry for allegedly committing contempt of court. The bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan gave a charge sheet to Chaudhry, who denied the contempt allegations and pleaded not guilty.
On May 23, the country’s top court turned down Tallal Chaudhry’s request seeking time to produce more witnesses in hearing of contempt case against him.
During the hearing of a case pertaining to contemptuous statements made by Chaudhry during a rally in January, the defendant’s counsel presented a list of 17 witnesses and sought time to summon and record statements. Turning down the plea, Justice Gulzar Ahmed observed the trial cannot be stretched further.