SC to take up contempt petitions against Imran, Nawaz and Iftikhar Chaudhry
The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday fixed separate contempt of court petitions against former premier Nawaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry for hearing on April 4.
Senior lawyer Naseer Ahmed Kayani has filed a petition against Imran Khan, accusing him of committing contempt of court by using derogatory language against former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Riaz Hanif Rahi — the lawyer who has challenged the appointment of Justice Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court — has filed two separate contempt of court petitions against the former premier and Chaudhry. Both the applications are based on the provision of a bullet-proof vehicle to the judge-turned-politician.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, will hear the contempt petitions on April 4.
The Supreme Court also fixed a petition against the 19th Amendment and another for holding a referendum to have a consensus on Kalabagh Dam. The chief justice will hear both the petitions on April 2.
Earlier in March, the Supreme Court had rejected a petition seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against Sharif for his alleged tirade against the judiciary during his GT Road journey to Lahore from Islamabad following his disqualification in the Panama Papers case.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Nisar, had dismissed the petition with an observation that the court would like to exercise restraint, also stating that not enough material had been produced to initiate contempt proceedings, though Sharif might have crossed limits in his speeches.