MUZAFFARABAD: The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Thursday fined the registrar of the University of AJK Rs10,000 in a contempt of court case for refusing to provide public documents to a petitioner.

The petition was filed by Advocate Raja Sajjad Ahmed on behalf of Ms Ausia Shafi, citing a previous ruling of the apex court.

The counsel argued that his client had formally requested the registrar Murtaza Qureshi on Jan 30 to provide copies of orders related to newly created positions and lecturer appointments.

Despite paying the required fee, she was only provided with two appointment orders, while the registrar refused to disclose further documents, claiming they were not public records.

The counsel contended that this refusal violated both the court’s earlier judgment and legal provisions.

After receiving a court notice, the registrar appeared before the bench and informed the court that the requested documents had since been provided to the petitioner. A full court bench, led by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram, ruled that withholding public documents constituted contempt of court.

However, since the documents were eventually supplied following judicial intervention, the court refrained from taking further action. Nonetheless, it imposed a Rs10,000 fine on the registrar, citing the unnecessary difficulties, mental distress, and inconvenience caused to the petitioner, which compelled her to seek legal remedy.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2025