LAHORE, March 5: A division bench of the Lahore High Court confirmed on Tuesday its interim orders suspending the sentences awarded to the provincial health secretary and the Lahore SSP (operations) by a single judge for contempt of court.
Secretary Hasan Wasim Afzal was sentenced to three months imprisonment and Rs5,000 in fine and SSP Aftab Ahmad Cheema for 15 days in jail and a fine of Rs1,000. The former was charged by Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif with frustrating court orders against his younger brother, Dr Nadeem Afzal Ashrafi, and another medico-legal officer in a contempt case and the latter with acting as a tool in his hands.
Their sentences were suspended for 10 days by the trial judge, and later by a division bench when they challenged their conviction by an intra-court appeal.
Both the convicts were present along with their counsel as the appellate bench comprising justices Karamat Nazir Bhandari and Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry took up their plea for confirmation of the suspension of their sentences.
Representing Advocate-General Maqbool Ilahi Malik, who is himself subject of adverse remarks in the impugned judgment, Advocate Shan Gul submitted that though he had no objection to confirmation he would prefer an early hearing of the appeals and request the bench to fix a date for the purpose. The bench observed that the appeals would be heard on their turn.
Advocates Abid Hasan Minto and M. Salim Sahgal represented the appellants.
PRIZE BONDS: The Lahore High Court gave the finance ministry another month to explain the authority of law under which prize bonds issued under the old scheme were cancelled.
A petitioner submitted through Advocate Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir that the Public Debt Act of 1944 contained no provision for cancellation of bonds by the State Bank. Denomination could be changed but the SBP was bound to offer the bond holder new bonds or cash. It could not just cancel a bond and refuse to encash it or fix a date for its cancellation.
The petition came up for hearing on Feb 5 and Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad asked the finance ministry to see within a month what could be done in the matter. No decision was taken by the ministry and the court extended the period by another month on Tuesday. Should the ministry fail again, the finance secretary would have to appear to explain the legal position on April 9.
ATC JUDGE: An additional judge of the Lahore High Court has been appointed administrative judge for anti-terrorism courts in the province of Punjab.
According to an LHC notification, Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry will also oversee the working of ATCs in Islamabad.
By another notification, Chief Justice Falak Sher named Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry as appellate tribunal for courts functioning under anti-smuggling laws.