Contempt case: Sindh IG issued second show-cause notice

Following no-confidence by contemnors, bench recommends the case be put before SHC Chief Justice

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) served on Wednesday a second show-cause notice to Sindh IG Ghulam Haider Jamali to explain why legal proceedings should not be initiated against him for making a false statement during contempt of court proceedings on Tuesday.

A division bench, comprising justices Ahmed Ali M Sheikh and Syed Muhammad Farooq Shah, declined from proceeding with the case after the alleged contemnors expressed their lack of confidence in the bench.

The bench was set to initiate a trial of the province's top cop and nine other senior officers, whom it had charged with contempt of court over the siege of the high court and anti-terrorism court twice during which supporters of former home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and journalists were also tortured by masked commandoes in May.

As the bench resumed the trial proceedings on Wednesday, the Liaquatabad SP, Tahir Noorani, appeared in court to explain his absence from the court a day before when the contempt charges were framed against the officers. The officer said he could not attend the hearing due to ailment of his mother. The judges recalled that the alleged contemnor, IG Jamali, had informed them on Tuesday that SP Noorani was on leave in order to perform Umrah.

Meanwhile, Noorani's lawyer filed a statement, stating that the IG had on December 14 granted him leave with effect from December 31 to perform Umrah.

"In view of the above, we are of the considered view that the alleged contemnor, IG Ghulam Haider Jamali, has made false statement in court though he was legally bound to furnish true information," the bench remarked.

Therefore, it issued a show-cause to him, asking why legal proceedings should not be initiated against him. The IG will submit an explanation on or before the next date of the hearing. Wednesday was a bad day for the IG as the Supreme Court also issued a show-cause notice to him to explain why he failed to respond to a departmental communication regarding alleged illegal appointments in the Sindh Reserve Police in Sukkur. SC also directed secretary establishment division and Sindh chief secretary to take action against the IG.

No-confidence

Before the judges could initiate the trial, the lawyers representing the alleged contemnor police officers — including IG Jamali, West DIG Feroze Shah, logistics and control AIG Faisal Bashir Memon and City SSP Fida Hussain — filed their respective statements, apprehending that they will not get even-handed justice.

"Besides, Advocates Farooq H Naek, Khawaja Shamsul Islam and Rasheed A Razvi have also posed no-confidence in this bench," the judges wrote in their order.

The bench took the statements of the lawyers as well as that of South DIG Dr Jameel Ahmed on record.

They observed that "though in the statements, filed by the contemnors, they have raised certain questions but we restrain ourselves from making any observations in order to keep congenial atmosphere between the Bench and the Bar." The bench members noted, "Since the contemnors have expressed their dissatisfaction with this bench, we are of the view that the matter should not be placed before us."

Therefore, they directed the office that the matter should not be fixed before this bench and be placed before the SHC Chief Justice to pass appropriate orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2015.