MUZAFFARABAD: In a rare decision, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court on Wednesday disqualified a sitting minister from being the member of the Legislative Assembly for the next five years for “deliberately encroaching upon state land and thus committing contempt of a court judgement”.

Minister for Sports, Youth and Culture Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed, who was elected from Mirpur city in 2016 polls as a PML-N nominee, was convicted and punished with imprisonment till the rising of the court in Mirpur circuit only a day after his constituency and adjoining areas were hit by a devastating earthquake.

Mr Saeed had defeated apparently formidable PTI regional president Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry notwithstanding being a novice in electoral politics.

On October 5, last year, one Haji Javed Akram, a resident of Mirpur, had filed an application in Mirpur circuit of the apex court, alleging that Mr Saeed had been “unlawfully occupying more than one kanal and eight marla crown land” along with his house “in an act that amounted to infringement of an apex court judgement titled Azeem Dutt and others versus Raja Khadim Hussain and others”.

Supreme Court bars him from becoming legislative assembly member for five years

Ever since, the minister was being tried by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Chaudhry Mohammad Ibrahim Zia and senior judge Raja Saeed Akram Khan.

Mr Saeed had placed himself at the mercy of the court from day one by tendering an unconditional apology.

During the course of hearing, his counsel had maintained that his client had not intentionally committed contempt of the court and that he had already demolished the boundary erected around the said piece of land.

However, the bench had rejected the plea as untenable because “the occupant was not an ordinary citizen but a minister and he had also admitted unlawful occupation”.

The bench had also refused to entertain a plea that since the applicant was a member of a rival political party, his application should be dismissed.

In its decision, authored by the senior judge and agreed upon by the CJ through an additional note, the bench observed that the contempt proceedings were initiated to maintain and strengthen the confidence of the general public and litigants in the court and to vindicate the honour and dignity of the court.

“By deliberately violating the judgement the alleged contemnor (Mr Saeed) tried to undermine the authority of the court and committed contempt of court; therefore, he is convicted and punished with imprisonment till rising of the court,” the bench declared and added: “The contemnor stands disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being a member of Legislative Assembly for a period of five years from today.”

Mr Saeed, it may be mentioned here, is a former president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2019