Contempt of court: Imran Khan given till Aug 28 to resubmit reply
August 02, 2013
The court had given Imran Khan time till 11:30 am Friday to submit his second and revised reply in the contempt of court case but rejected it once again, terming it “disappointing”.
The court had termed his earlier response as “insufficient”.
According to his revised response submitted in the court today, Imran Khan’s July 26 statement was not against the chief justice or the Supreme Court but he meant to criticize the role of the returning officers and district returning officers during May 11, 2013 general elections.
The SC rejected the PTI chief’s detailed response on using the word 'Sharamnak' (shameful) for judiciary. However, Khan's lawyer Hamid Khan Advocate insisted that it was meant for the returning officers and district returning officers and not the Supreme Court.
The court, however, did not approve his second response as well and instructed his counsel Hamid Khan to submit a third and more heartfelt written response by August 28. The court, then, adjourned the hearing till then.
Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan appeared before a three-judge bench of the SC in a contempt of court hearing today.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry comprised of Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Azmat Saaed heard the case.
Senior lawyer and PTI leader Hamid Khan Advocate represented Khan before the court, which slapped the cricketer-turned politician with a contempt notice for making critical and derogatory remarks against the institution.
Referring to Imran Khan’s press conference on July 26, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said that the PTI chief had said that the judiciary’s role was shameful in the May 2013 general elections.
During the proceedings, Hamid Khan said that Imran Khan did not mean higher courts when he said “judiciary” during his press conference.
Hamid Khan argued that his client has never intended to demean the court, in fact he can never think of committing contempt of court. He has always stood for the supremacy of law and judiciary, as he believes in the rule of law, Hamid added.
Hamid Khan continued saying that Imran Khan had complaints against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and that he expects a lot from the top court and hopes that the judiciary will listen to him.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that Imran Khan had demanded the biometric confirmation of voters in four constituencies.
He said that Imran Khan should know about the constitution and asked his lawyer Hamid Khan to apprise his client about the constitution.
Later, the court gave Imran Khan time till 11:30 am to submit his revised reply in the court and adjourned the hearing till then.
At the occasion, a large number of PTI supporters gathered outside the SC building.
Khan, who appeared defiant ahead of the hearing, said that he will not extend an apology over his stance and will stand firm as he was struggling for democracy in Pakistan.
The SC issued him notice to appear before it on August 2 and explain as to why contempt of court proceedings may not be initiated against him.
Khan had criticized the role of the top court and the ECP in the conduct of the recently held general election, which saw Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N emerging as the single largest party in the National Assembly.
Imran Khan spent a busy day on Thursday with his legal advisors for consultation over the imminent proceedings in the court.
