June 03, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 2: The Supreme Court on Monday resumed discussion on determining which contempt law will hold the appeals of capital’s seven senior administration officials and police personnel convicted for roughing up now deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on March 13 last year.

Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, a member of an 11-judge bench that had taken up the appeals of the contemnors against their conviction, however, made it abundantly clear that even if there was no law, constitution provided ample power to the Supreme Court to proceed against matters involving its contempt.

The discussion focused around contempt laws as the 1976 contempt of the court ordinance has been substituted by ordinances promulgated during 2003 and later in 2004.

If the ordinance of 1976 holds the field then the appeal against convictions awarded under this ordinance would lie before a full court and if ordinance of 2003 exists then a five-member or larger bench could hear the appeal. If both have been repealed, then only Article 204 of the constitution is available under which no appeal is applicable.

Headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, the larger bench put off further hearing without fixing a definite date on the written request of two contemnors, Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Mohammad Ali and Deputy Inspector Police Jameel Hashmi, as both of them were abroad.

The appeals were moved against the November 1 order of the Supreme Court which had sentenced Islamabad’s senior administration officials and police personnel for roughing up Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry by preventing him from marching towards the apex court to answer the allegation of misuse of office before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

However, soon after announcement the sentence was suspended for 15 days on the request of the convicts for filing appeals against the convictions.

Former Islamabad chief commissioner Khalid Pervaiz and deputy commissioner Chaudhry Mohammad Ali were sentenced to imprisonment till rising of the court, former inspector-general of police Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed and senior superintendent of police Capt (retired) Zafar Iqbal were sentenced to 15 days in jail and deputy superintendent of police Jamil Hashmi, inspector of police Rukhsar Mehdi and assistant sub-inspector Mohammad Siraj to one-month imprisonment.

Later, a 10-member bench barred the respective departments from taking any adverse action against the appellants till pendency of the appeals.

At the last hearing the government had opposed the appeals against the conviction on the grounds that the contemnors were not competent to file appeals since no law governing contempt of the court was in the field besides Article 204 of the constitution that deals with the contempt of the Supreme Court.

On Monday, Advocate Mujeebur Rehman, representing four convicts, told the apex court that these appeals had been moved under the ordinance promulgated in 2004 but the court observed that under this ordinance no appeal was provided for committing contempt of this court.

Dr Khalid Ranjha, the counsel for ex-IGP, stated that the contemnors were seeking pardon and had already tendered unconditional apologies.

Meanwhile, the same bench also adjourned another case it initiated against the use of force by the law-enforcement agencies to quell protests by lawyers, journalists and other civil society representatives on September 29, 2007, outside the Supreme Court building as well as in front of the offices of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The police brutality had left over 70 lawyers, journalists and civil society members injured in the violence.

On that day the capital had seen pitched battles on the Constitution Avenue after lawyers were manhandled, baton-charged and tear-gassed during a demonstration against President Pervez Musharraf’s re- election bid when the ECP was scrutinising nominations of presidential candidates.

At the last hearing, the apex court had revoked the suspension of Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Mohammad Ali, Inspector General of Police Moravet Ali Shah and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Naeem Khan.