Aitzaz Ahsan vows to prove contempt law invalid

Counsel for the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani Aitzaz Ahsan has claimed that he will prove to the court that the contempt of court law is invalid, saying that this law could be defunct under Article 10-A of the Constitution.

While continuing his argument before a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court with Justice Nasirul Mulk in the chair, he said that according to Article 10-A of the Constitution every citizen, including the prime minister, has a right to a fair trial.

It was responsibility of the apex court to grant him more time to continue his argument in the contempt of court case, he said. He asserted, “I want to raise more points to support my argument for a transparent trial for my client PM Gilani”.

On this Justice Nasirul Mulk remarked that this was not suitable for raising objections in the case.

In counter-remarks, the lawyer said his client name was not included in the case when Supreme Court had initiated the hearing. The court had issued a notice to him, holding him in the contempt case and giving him no margin to defend himself properly.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on this occasion remarked that under Article 4 even those laws have to be conceded, which are inappropriate and added it has to be seen whether the court on this basis has the authority or not to abolish the law.

Justice Gulzar said that the record of the parliamentary committee could tell about what was the objective of Article 10-A.

He presented arguments regarding presidential immunity before the Supreme Court, saying heads of states enjoyed immunity from prosecution in criminal and civil cases in courts across the globe.

The apex court, earlier during the hearing, asked the premier’s counsel to conclude his arguments with respect to the Constitution’s Article 10-A.

The prime minister was charged with contempt of court on February 13 over the government’s two-year refusal to write to authorities in Switzerland asking them to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Apr 18 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. 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.