KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday once again rejected the apologies of the provincial police chief and 13 other police officers, including three DIGs, in the contempt of court case and deferred their indictment for a fortnight on the request of the counsel for two of the alleged contemnors.

The contempt proceedings against IGP Ghulam Haider Jamali and others were initiated on the petition of disowned Pakistan Peoples Party leader Dr Zulfikar Mirza for besieging the SHC and adjoining antiterrorism courts on May 19 and 23.

During the May 23 siege of the SHC, uniformed and plain-clothes personnel had used force to arrest several associates of Dr Mirza who along with him appeared in court to seek confirmation of their pre-arrest bail in several cases. Dr Mirza’s guards and some of his associates, as well as media persons, were manhandled by the plain-clothes personnel at the main gate of the court’s building. Several vehicles parked in the area and media personnel’s cameras were also damaged in the action.

On Tuesday, Advocates Rasheed A. Razvi and Khawaja Shamsul Islam filed power of attorneys to defend Additional IG (Legal) Faisal Bashir and SSP Maj (Rtd) Saleem as a two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, took up the matter.

Justice Shah observed that the judges did not have any personal grudge against any police officer but it was a matter of the institution’s sanctity and strong decision needed to be taken to protect the SHC.

Advocate Razvi requested the court to appoint a high court judge to investigate the matter. But Justice Shah said the alleged contemnors had been given two chances to explain the actual situation, but they did nothing.

The bench put off the hearing to Dec 15, when the alleged contemnors including IGP Ghulam Hyder Jamali, former Karachi police chief Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo, DIG-South Dr Jamil Ahmed, DIG-West Feroze Shah, SSP Captain (Rtd) Mohammad Asad, officer in charge of the Special Security Unit SSP Major (Rtd) Saleem, Additional IG (Legal) Faisal Bashir Memon, SSP-City Fida Hussain Janwari, SP-Saddar Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqui, former SP-Saddar Raees Abdul Ghani, SP-Headquarters (West) Tahir Noorani and Sub-Inspector Jehangir Mahar will be indicted in the contempt proceedings.

While rejecting the apologies of IGP Jamali and other police officers, the court observed: “The regrets, remorse and repentance shown by the alleged contemnors do not appear to be sincere, bona fide and honest, therefore, we decline to accept their apologies. We are of the view that there is sufficient material available on record to proceed against the alleged contemnors in accordance with law.”

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2015