PM Gilani files an appeal against contempt of court charges

PM Gilani files an appeal against contempt of court charges

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the lodgement of contempt of court charges on Wednesday.

The appeal was filed by Gilani’s lawyer, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who after the most recent hearing of the case, told media officials that he would advise Prime Minster to file an appeal.

On the condition of anonymity, a high ranked official told AFP that, “An appeal has been filed. It has been received in the court.”

The appeal comprised of 200 pages and pointed out 53 legal and constitutional points, highlighting that the Prime Minister had not committed court’s contempt by not writing a letter.

 “I have filed an appeal today. I have quoted more than 50 national and international cases and given specific reasons against the Supreme Court order,” Ahsan said.

Ahsan stated that his appeal was based on the patterns set by top courts in Australia, Britain, France, India and USA.

“A respondent has 30 days to file an appeal against the court’s decision. I asked for 30 days, but the bench only gave me 11 days… We have tried to file the appeal as soon as possible so that a larger bench – larger than the current one – can be formed,”
Ahsan added.

He also told according to the contempt of court’s law, a new bench needs to be formed and the Prime Minister does not have to appear before the court.

“Excluding the judges that are currently hearing the case, there are nine judges who can form a new bench for the hearing of the case… The new bench will definitely include Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,” Ahsan told media.

Previously, Ahsan used to stress that he will never appear before the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, but today, he agreed to appear before him.

“My objection is that the court in its order on February 2 cited no specific reasons for initiating contempt of court proceedings against the prime minister,” Ahsan told.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister has confirmed that he will appear before the court on next hearing of the case on February 13.

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Posted by Mursil Mehmood Butt on Feb 8 2012. Filed under Latest News, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry