New Contempt of Court Act 2012 not without flaws; says Chief Justice

Terming the government’s claim that the new Contempt of Court Act was without flaws incorrect, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday made it clear that all matters of public interests could be taken up in courts.

A five-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed the hearing of 27 identical petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act 2012.

The chief justice stated the judiciary and parliament were not against each other, saying “We take wisdom from the debates that occurred on the floor of the house”.

Moreover, he said that democracy would continue if dictatorship was not supported by those in power, adding that the way to authoritarianism was paved when institutions exceeded their jurisdictions.

Earlier, Abdul Shakoor Paracha, the counsel for federation, presented arguments before the bench saying the parliament has complete right of legislation under the Constitution and this authority could not be challenged.

The lawyer further said that the new contempt of court act doesn’t restrict the authority of the judiciary in any sense. In his view, the petitions filed against the contempt law are not valid and could not be heard.

Earlier, during Monday’s hearing and days after the judges’ remarks over the role of the opposition in parliament over the passage of the new contempt law, the Supreme Court tried to pacify the parliamentarians and said the court always sought wisdom from them.

“They (parliamentarians) are not against us. We seek wisdom from them and when during the proceedings we read the debate made in the two houses we learn about the discussion on every aspect of the law,” observed Chief Justice Chaudhry.

On July 27, members of the treasury benches in Senate had expressed concern over the judges’ remarks and said the judiciary should exercise restraint in dealing with the parliament.

Also, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-N had, in a hard-hitting statement, described the remarks as disappointing, unfair, unjust and beyond comprehension.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 31 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.