ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: Irked by comments made by Senator Babar Awan, a Supreme Court bench hearing the Bhutto presidential reference issued on Thursday a second show-cause notice in 24 hours to the former law minister and asked him to explain why his licence to practise in the apex court should not be cancelled.

`We are the issuing authority and have the powers to cancel licences as well,` Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry observed before issuing the second notice.

The court was scheduled to take up the reference filed by President Asif Ali Zardari for revisiting the murder trial of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but when the 11-judge bench took their seats and Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, an amicus curiae, proceeded to resume his arguments, the chief justice called Dr Awan to the rostrum and asked him to explain his reaction to the show-cause notice issued to him and other PPP leaders on Wednesday for making derogatory remarks about the judiciary at a press conference.

The chief justice drew Mr Awan`s attention to a news item which quoted him as saying that the notice had been issued to him because he was the federation`s counsel in the presidential reference and the purpose was to render his arguments ineffective.

Instead of giving a clear reply, Dr Awan asked the chiefjustice to see other papers which said that `I have been called barber`. He said the court should also take notice of such comments made about a senior lawyer.

`OK, we can watch the footage aired by different TV channels and then we will proceed further,` the chief justice replied.

The proceedings were adjourned for 10 minutes to make arrangements for playing the video footage in which Babar Awan was saying that criminal cases had been registered against him also in the past when he was pursuing the cases of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.

He recited a couplet in Punjabi meaning that `nothing happened despite issuance of a notice. Why make a complaint to the darling and why not welcome it`. Other members of Dr Awan`s legal team were seen laughing at the prank.

The court asked Supreme Court Bar Association`s President Yasin Azad and Pakistan Bar Council`s Vice-Chairman Latif Afridi whether or not the words and gesture amounted to ridiculing the court. They said they condemned such a conduct from a senior lawyer like Babar Awan, but urged the court to exercise restraint to avoid a confrontation between institutions.

The chief justice said there was no confrontation between organs of state and all institutions, including judiciary, legislature and the executive, were for the rule of law and the Constitution.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan,another amicus curiae, said the court was seized with an important presidential reference and it must not be detracted from it intentionally or unintentionally because of this matter. He said the entire nation was awaiting the outcome of the reference and requested the court not to press the matter.

The chief justice agreed that it was a historic and important reference and said: `We are bound to hear it as our duty. We are not obliging anybody by hearing it.

He said the court would continue to hear the reference and hear all lawyers, but the matter of contempt could not be ignored because it involved dignity of the court.

The chief justice asked Dr Awan when was he enrolled as a Supreme Court lawyer.

The chief justice ordered the court registrar to present Dr Awan`s file before the bench when the latter said he did not remember the exact date.

`We do not issue licences to lawyers to behave like this, the chief justice observed.

The court issued the showcause notice and asked Dr Awan to file by Jan 9 a written reply explaining why his name should not be struck off the roll of advocates of the court.

In its order the court said the content of the utterance, gestures made and the body language were indicative of an attempt to ridicule the court. It said interaction between the bench and the bar depended on mutual respect.