ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Attorney General Irfan Qadir has challenged the Sept 20 order of the Supreme Court which held that he was not competent to prosecute Malik Riaz of Bahria Town on contempt charges since he had represented the property tycoon in the past.

In a review petition, the attorney general requested the court to recall the order and allow him to prosecute Malik Riaz because it was a requirement under the law and necessary to ensure a fair trial.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry is hearing a contempt of court case against Malik Riaz for hurling harsh allegations and three questions at Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at a press conference on June 12.

In contempt matters the attorney general usually prosecutes the accused.

In compliance with an earlier court order, Mr Qadir had on Sept 15 submitted a list of witnesses and evidence and named the chief justice as one of the prosecution witnesses.

The list also included the names of Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, son of the chief justice who is embroiled in a case of financial scam, Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Salman Ahmed, son-in-law of Malik Riaz.

The court held in its order that no-one had succeeded in convincing it to allow the attorney general to continue prosecuting the accused and it had reached the conclusion that he should be removed from the proceedings as a prosecutor.

In his petition, Mr Qadir emphasised the importance of the attorney general and contented that the job of prosecutor was so important that it could not be allowed to be tainted with bias.

“An element of bias in any corner of the prosecutor’s mind can vitiate the entire process of contempt proceeding,” he said, adding that an advocate or a person appearing in defence could get away with bias but even a speck of bias on part of the prosecutor could wreak havoc in the process.

“If the AG is biased in favour of the court, fair trial will be reduced to impossibility and if he is biased in favour of the respondent, dignity of the court will be compromised,” the review petition said.

“The AG, therefore, should not only be independent but to be manifestly seen to be independent. This being the legal position recorded by the order itself it is not easily understood how the AG can be faulted for listing the chief justice as a critical witness. Does the court not wish to ascertain the truth,” the petition asked.

The attorney general pleaded that the only reason for filing the review petition was to uphold the law and safeguard the prestige of the Supreme Court. “Sadly, both are huge casualties at the hands of the order which depicts multiple errors.”

Mr Qadir also clarified that he absolutely had no personal interest in continuing as the prosecutor in the case, nor was the instant petition meant to seek rectification of the baseless and entirely unprovoked harm intended towards his name and reputation.

“The petitioner firmly believes that history has its own way of judging events and that his position will certainly be vindicated,” the petition said.