April 18, 2006	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 17: The Supreme Court on Monday gave a three-week deadline to all courts to conclude trials of those who had violated a ban on serving meals in weddings.

“It is appropriate to take up the contempt of court cases against the violators after the trial courts finished their findings,” a three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, observed.

The bench was hearing similar contempt of the court cases against a number of respondents for violating ban on wedding meals.

On Monday, hundreds of respondents, including 129 from Punjab alone, appeared in the court to face contempt proceedings.

Prominent among the respondents were ruling party MNA Khawaja Shiraz Mehmood from Taunsa Sharif, Dera Ghazi Khan; Director- General Health, Sindh, Dr Hadi Bakhsh Jatoi; Vehari Naib District Nazim Yusuf Kasiana; Malik Fakhar Azam, brother of NWFP law minister Malik Zafar Azam; and Rasheed Gujar, a Tehsildar from Lahore.

Expressing displeasure over violation of the ban by MNA Khawaja Shiraz, the CJ observed that the Marriage (Prohibition of Ostentatious Display) Ordinance, which he flouted had also been passed by the National Assembly, of which he was a member.

One can help orphans, widows, support Madressahs or educational institutions or carry out other philanthropic activities if one really wants to show wealth, instead of flagrantly violating court’s orders, he observed.

This means that you have no respect for law — an act for which you can even lose your National Assembly seat, the CJ said.

Referring to Yusuf Kasiana, the CJ asked whether he had grown so big that he had the audacity to violate apex court’s order.

He also expressed displeasure over some senior lawyers who came to defend the violators. “We had asked the bar members to help us in implementing the ban on wedding meals, but you are helping the violators by defending them,” CJ said.

The naib district nazim Vehari was admonished when he claimed that he had served food on his Walima to 300-400 people only. When he was told that an English daily had mentioned that he had 10,000 guests, he contended that the newspaper had exaggerated.

Mr Kasiana, who had been summoned by the SC along with other respondents, appeared before the court by cutting short his honeymoon.

The bench also turned down requests for unconditional apology and ruled that all cases should be prosecuted within three weeks, and adjourned the proceedings till May 22.