Judiciary wants continual of democracy in the country: Chief Justice

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said judiciary wants continual of democracy in the country, adding everyone was collectively striving to uphold the system.

A five-judge bench of the apex court with Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the chair resumed the hearing for petitions filed against the Contempt of Court Act 2012.

The chief justice noted that the judiciary was making efforts that the country’s democratic system continued. In his view, it was the Constitution that kept them united.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja during the course of hearing observed that parliamentarians were servants of the public, adding that they drew their salaries from the taxes paid by the people of the country.

He remarked, “Parliament members are merely servants of the people and nothing more, they even get paid by the public”.

He, however, said that the servants of the public forget their true responsibilities and begin considering themselves the owners of the country.

He was of the opinion that the court had been bestowed with the responsibility of implementing the country’s constitution that was formulated under an ideology and with consensus of all stakeholders.

Justice Khawaja added, “Dictators in the past attempted to obliterate the essence of the Constitution but that the document was still just as significant and valid.

In his view, the people who made the Constitution of the country were respectful and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s respect increases whenever he read it. Those people who gave unanimous Constitution were ideological, he added.

Raja Afrasiab, the counsel for one of the petitioners while presenting his arguments said that the Constitution gives clear line on the Contempt of Court issue, adding that its concept clearly defined in Article 204 of the Constitution.

Earlier on Thursday, the court’s proceeding was consumed by the speeches made in parliament which covered various subjects, from the new contempt law to supremacy, sovereignty and dignity of parliament.

Chief Justice Chaudhry lashed out murmurs of a constitutional crisis if the new contempt law was declared null and void by the apex court.

It is vital to mention here that the Supreme Court has already rejected the government’s plea for forming a full bench on the matter, as well as a request for adjourning the hearing for a longer period of time to allow its counsels to prepare their arguments.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 27 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.