Aitzaz Ahsan objects seven-member bench

Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in the contempt of court case, objected to the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court, making the situation more complex.

The senior lawyer stated that his objection was legitimate and holds purely legal grounds. In case his plea is admitted, eight other judges including the chief justice will not be able to hear the case.

The eight-member bench was the same that dismissed intra-court appeal of Gilani against seven-judge bench in the NRO implementation case.

There is no other forum to hear the case if Aitzaz’s application is admitted, as the total strength of the apex court is 16. Conversely, the court gave no ruling to the objection.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the bench, the solicitor said that those judges who issued show-cause notice and delivered verdict before the case commenced, should not hear the case.

In his view, the said bench had already made its mind against Yousaf Raza Gilani to be punished. Therefore it could not conduct a fair trial. According to the 18^th amendment, a person is entitled to fair trial in criminal case an even in contempt of court case.

The counsel for PM argued before the court that he could not go an inch from the evidences he had submitted before the court, saying, “If you prove the contempt from that evidence, then sentence me instead of pardoning”.

He contended that the SC could not proceed on assumptions as it was a criminal trial and decision be made on evidences submitted before the bench.

Categorically stating that until Asif Ali Zardari was holding the office of President of Pakistan, he could not be trialed anywhere in the world, Ahsan added.

He argued the premier’s reply misconceived and it was presumed that he was not sincere in enforcing the court’s ruling. In his view, it was assumed that war drums had begun to beat and the prime minster got disqualified, when the SC disclosed its six options.

The lawyer also complained that the court without hearing his client termed him dishonest to his oath, which was quite harsh language against the sitting prime minister.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Mar 22 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.