The five member bench to hear the petitions filed against the new contempt of court law would be headed by CJP Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.    — Dawn File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday constituted a five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, to hear the petitions filed against the new contempt of court law, DawnNews reported.

Other members of the bench include Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jilani.

The hearing for the case is scheduled for 23rd July.

The federation, the prime minister, speaker National Assembly, chairman Senate, the attorney general, the federal law minister and secretary cabinet division were made party in the constitutional petitions filed in the court.

The contempt of court law  had been hurriedly passed by the ruling government in a bid to protect the incumbentprime minister from facing the same fate as his predecessor.

The law exempts “holders of public office” from the mischief of contempt in “exercise of powers and performance of functions” and allows for suspension of a sentence during the pendency of an appeal.

The main opposition party in the National Assembly, the PML-N, had objected to the passage of the law saying it was not sent to relevant standing committees for deliberation.

Opinion

Editorial

Maulana’s message
Updated 11 Mar, 2025

Maulana’s message

The problem now is that most jihadi fighters, ideologues refuse to end their "struggle" on advice of state or mainstream clerics.
President’s speech
11 Mar, 2025

President’s speech

PRESIDENT Asif Zardari, addressing Monday’s joint session of parliament to mark the start of a new parliamentary...
Indian takeover
11 Mar, 2025

Indian takeover

BY the time the Champions Trophy final ended, the only indicators that the tournament had been hosted by Pakistan...
Mosquito season
10 Mar, 2025

Mosquito season

AS temperatures rise, the threat of dengue looms large over Pakistan. Its warning signs have already arrived. Dengue...
Reckless rhetoric
10 Mar, 2025

Reckless rhetoric

ONCE again, the Indian leadership gave in to their worst impulses, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar...
Water scarcity
Updated 10 Mar, 2025

Water scarcity

The need to meet climate challenge is even greater when Pakistan is prone to multiple disastrous events at the same time.