LHC suspends conviction of DC, AC

Sessions court awards three-month imprisonment to officers over contempt, misbehaviour

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court’s Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti suspended a District and Sessions judge’s order wherein Mandi Bahauddin’s deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner had been handed in three months imprisonment each.

The petitioners DC and AC challenged the verdict of the D&SJ Abdul Jabbar, who also heads the consumer court, wherein he (D&SJ) had awarded sentences in a contempt of court case.

As the proceedings initiated on Monday at LHC, the CJ Bhatti questioned the advocate general Punjab observing “do your officers not want to run the courts”, “Your officers, by sending the litigation clerk, flouted the orders of the court”.

CJ Bhatti further observed that when the district court had summoned the DC then why and under what capacity a call was made to the judge, the CJ Bhatti expressing his displeasure.

“We have to jointly run this system otherwise the whole system will be destroyed,” CJ Bhatti observed. The petitioner’s counsel implored the court that the consumer court awarded sentences in that case which purely does not fall under its jurisdiction.

CJ Bhatti remarked that it was then appropriate to challenge the jurisdiction of the court if someone believes the court is exceeding its jurisdiction. However, the CJ Bhatti summoned the record of the case meanwhile suspended the sentences.

District and Sessions Judge Abdul Jabbar convicted DC Tariq Basra and AC Imtiaz Ali Baig in a contempt of court case and issued orders for sending them to jail.

Mandi Bahauddin police arrested both the officials from the court room.

Complainant Muhammad Asim had filed a case in the court of District and Sessions Judge Abdul Jabbar who is also the head of the district consumer court, contending that he was allotted an official residence in Wapda Colony but the local administration had issued another allotment letter of the said house to a schoolteacher. After that one litigation clerk, Rana Mehboob Ali, of the local administration ousted him out from the house.

The judge issued notices to the DC and the AC but they did not appear before the court. They sent a litigation clerk to the court who committed misconduct and contempt through his misbehaviour. As the clerk challenged the authority of the court, the judge convicted him.

Later, the DC made a phone call to the judge asking him to set the clerk free. The AC appeared before the court and he also allegedly misbehaved with the judge. The judge then issued notices to the DC and the AC under section 228 of the PPC to appear personally and answer as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.

After that they appeared before the court but could not satisfy the judge at which they were awarded three months imprisonment each to both the officers and sent them to Gujrat District Jail.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2021.