Talal Chaudhary to record statement on April 30

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Talal Chaudhary will appear in the witness box on April 30 to record his statement in the contempt case against him.

If the Supreme Court will intend to proceed further after recording his statement then defence counsel will submit list of witnesses. And the proceedings will be prolonged.

The legal experts believe that Talal’s statement before the Supreme Court will be significant. The prosecution will present questions before him to respond. However, it is also expected that he may give his written statement. The contempt case may drop if the court is satisfied with the statement. Talal Chaudhary is yet to present an unconditional apology in this case.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan who is the member of the bench is going to retire on May 8. He was the author of the judgment, which disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panamagate case.

Talal faces the charge of contempt due to his two statements in January in which he incited the public for ousting the ‘idles’ of ‘PCO judges’ from the Supreme Court.



Advocate Kamran Murtaza, counsel for Chaudhry, during the hearing on Friday requested the court to exercise judicial restraint as it is difficult to be a lawyer in a contempt of court case and added that he is appearing after the demise of Asma Jahangir, who had agreed to argue the case. Similarly, active bar member Azam Nazeer Tarar also pleaded the bench to show restraint.  In response, Justice Ejaz Afzal, who is heading the three-judge bench, asked Murtaza to diligently fulfill his duties.

“Our aim is to establish the supremacy of law,” Justice Afzal observed during the proceedings. “Even if somebody throws a shoe at us, it is the solemn duty of the lawyer to defend him,” the justice told the defense counsel. The defense counsel also asked the court to drop the case against the PML-N leader. The Supreme Court adjourned hearing of the case against Chaudhry until April 30.



Earlier Additional Attorney General Waqar Rana produced Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Director Monitoring Haji Adam as a witness. The same official was also the witness for the prosecution in the contempt of court case against PML-N MNA Daniyal Aziz. Haji Adam is being cross-examined by both prosecution and defense.

The witness admitted that there is no mechanism in PEMRA to examine the veracity of the video clip. The SC issued contempt notice on his statements aired on Neo TV but the witness had submitted the video clip of ROZ TV. He also admitted that he did not compare the contents of video clip with another TV channel.

Another bench will record defence evidences in Danyial Aziz contempt case on April 16. Both leaders have yet to tender unconditional apology for allegedly scandalizing the court. A senior PML-N leader said that there is a precedent of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan case, wherein he did not tender apology but the court had dropped proceedings against him on the recommendation of former Attorney General of Pakistan Muneer A Malik. It is learnt that PML-N leaders gave up the plan to submit an apology after the conviction of Nehal Hashmi in the contempt case.