ISLAMABAD: The office of Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq on Saturday received the three-page order of the Supreme Court on the implementation of the NRO judgment, which he is supposed to communicate to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
At the last hearing on March 8, a seven-judge Supreme Court bench had directed the AG to convey to the prime minister the court’s renewed directive on implementation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance.
Regardless of any advice to him by the law secretaries and the law ministers, the court had said in its fresh order the prime minister as chief executive of the country should implement the directive contained in paragraphs 177 and 178 of the NRO judgment.
Now the prime minister has to submit his response when the court meets on March 21 suggesting his intentions whether he is complying with the fresh directive of the apex court or will chose to defy.
The Supreme Court is seized with the contempt case against the prime minister for wilfully flouting, disregarding and disobeying the direction given by this court in Para 178 that ask for reviving the request by the government of Pakistan for mutual legal assistance in the case relating to the laundered money lying in foreign countries, including Switzerland. The graft cases worth $60 million also involved President Asif Ali Zardari.
While framing the contempt charge, the court had stated that the prime minister was legally bound to obey the directions of the court and by not doing so he had committed contempt.
TWIST & TURN: The unexpected twist in the event as usual gave legal experts the opportunity to dissect and to foretell what the future may hold for the prime minister.
This is a significant development, said Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, saying the situation was fast evolving towards a possibility where the court seized with the contempt matter could invoke Section 13 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 which deals with the procedure in cases of contempt in the face of the court.
Section 13 of the contempt law says: (1) In the case of a contempt committed in the face of the court, the court may cause the contemnor/offender to be detained in custody and may proceed against him. Provided that if the case can not be finally disposed of on the same day, the court may order the release of the accused from the custody either on bail or on his own bond.
(2) In all cases of contempt in the face of the court the judge shall pass an order in open court recording separately what was said or done by the accused person and shall immediately proceed against the offender or may refer the matter to the chief justice for hearing and deciding the case by himself or by another judge.
Advocate Chaudhry Ramzan somehow endorsed the legal proposition saying the court has the authority to hand down any kind of penalty to the contemnor be it the prime minister or ordinary offender.
The court can reprimand, or pass a sentence even for a day or six months or could sentence the prime minister till rising of the court.
In case the Supreme Court passed a sentence for a day or more than that, the president enjoys the authority to pardon the sentence given by the court under Article 45 of the Constitution.
But in case the Supreme Court penalized the prime minister till rising of the court for defying its order by not writing the letter to the Swiss authorities, the situation would be very grave since the president would have no time to pardon the prime minister, he explained.
The rising of the court means he elucidated that the offender would have to remain detain within the courtroom till the bench finishes its judicial function and rises.
This also means that the conviction would be glued with the prime minister for all times to come with all its consequences and repercussions, he said.
However the prime minister will still have the right to file an appeal against the sentence under section 19 of the contempt laws, he said.
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