Additional Registrar contempt of court case: SC announces reserved verdict

ISLAMABAD: The two-member Supreme Court bench, including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, announced the reserved verdict in the contempt of court case.

Justice Mansoor announced that the matter was sent to the Chief Justice for full court. The Additional Registrar has also been discharged from contempt of court case.

Also read: Committee, contempt, and constitutional bench: verdict reserved

The file was sent to the Chief Justice to constitute a full court on the authority of the Judges Committee, Justice Mansoor announced.

The verdict said that contempt of court was not proven against Additional Registrar Nazar Abbas, adding that the Administrative Committee cannot withdraw case.

“Judges Committee and Constitutional Committee violated court order. Additional Registrar did not intentionally violate court order,” the Supreme Court verdict said.

BACKGROUND

The case was originally set to be on the power of benches, but turned into contempt of court due to failure of being fixed for hearing. The SC bench had sought the reasons behind the case not being scheduled for hearing, and during proceedings it came to light that the Judges Committee had decided to schedule the case for the Constitutional Bench instead.

Justice Mansoor sought advice on the matter of the committee’s powers and on the formation of a full court in the case of powers of benches. The apex court had also removed Additional Registrar Judicial Nazar Abbas from his post over the charges of contempt of court.

Khawaja Haris, Hamid Khan, Ahsan Bhoon, and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan had appeared before the apex court bench to advise the court on the jurisdiction of the committees formed under Practice and Procedure Act.

Also read: Power of benches, contempt of court and dismissed officer: SC saga continues

During the proceedings, Justice Mansoor had posed the question, “How did the committee decide to withdraw the case despite the judicial order?”

He had asked that whether the “case was withdrawn on the basis that we cannot even ask questions,” adding, “If the bench has given a decision, an appeal can be filed against it, but the case cannot be withdrawn.”

Justice Mansoor asked “Where did the independence of the judiciary go [if cases are withdrawn like this]?”

The Attorney General and the judicial advisor Ahsan Bhoon had informed the court that the committee’s decision to transfer the case to the constitutional bench was correct. Later, the bench reserved the verdict which has been announced today.