ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) resumed hearing of the contempt charges against former law minister Babar Awan today and adjourned the hearing till May 17 without indicting him, Geo News reported.
The SC bench comprising Justice Athar Saeed and Justice Ejaz Afzal was hearing the case.
During today’s proceedings, the court could not indict the former minister as it was told that hearing of Intra Court Appeal (ICA) on the indictment order is due on Wednesday, that is why the court should not indict Awan today.
On this, the court adjourned the proceeding till May 17.
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred proceedings on an Intra Court Appeal (ICA) of former law minister Babar Awan seeking restoration of his suspended practicing license, as the larger bench was not available for the time being.
A three-Judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain took up an ICA moved by Babar Awan. The Chief Justice told him that a ten-member bench could take up his appeal and for the time being it was not available. The former law minister had tendered unconditional apology, praying for restoration of his practicing licence, which was temporarily suspended by the court for ridiculing the judiciary.
The Supreme Court on January 17 had temporarily suspended the former law minister’s practicing licence under Order V, rule 30 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 for allegedly ridiculing a show cause notice served upon him by another bench for criticizing court’s order on the memo case with recitation of Punjabi verses.
Babar in his plea said that he was a professional lawyer having no other source of livelihood and his fundamental right stood suspended after the suspension of his practicing licence. He stated that a significant number of litigants who engaged him as lawyer over a period of years were suffering irreparable loss, while his staff was also facing hardships.
He said that whatever he spoke in the press conference as well as in the press talk was unintentional and based on inadvertence. He requested the court to accept his apology and recall its January 17 order.