ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday set aside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s direction to initiate contempt proceedings against former information minister Fawad Chaudhry inside Adiala Central Jail.

“Consequently, the contempt proceedings/trial conducted in Adiala Jail against Mr Chaudhry, which did not constitute an open trial, stand vitiated for being in violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution,” observed Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz of the IHC, while accepting his plea moved through Advocate Faisal Fareed.

The high court also described the ECP’s direction as without lawful authority, adding to “sum up petitioner Fawad Chaudhry was entitled to a fair trial under Article 10-A of the Constitution, which inter alia, entails a public hearing.”

The court added: “ECP’s orders deprive the petitioner of his constitutional right to a fair trial by calling a jail trial of the alleged contempt against him without cogent reason and without ensuring that the jail trial is nevertheless an open trial and as such are ultra vires the Constitution and illegal.”

In his petition, Fawad Chaudhry had sought to set aside ECP’s orders of November 30 2023 and December 12 2023, whereby the commission had ordered contempt proceedings against him to be conducted in Adiala Jail.

The petition had also sought directions against ECP to proceed with the hearing in open court as conducted earlier on the premises of ECP and to the relevant authorities to produce the petitioner on each date of the hearing.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2024