IHC full court to take up contempt plea on 19th

A full court bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, will hear on September 19 the contempt of court plea over a "malicious campaign" against Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri regarding his law degree.

The bench will comprise Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Suman Rifat Imtiaz. The full court bench held its first hearing of the case before the summer vacation.

During the previous hearings, the court issued notices to three journalists, the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) beside the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and sough their replies.

The proceedings stem from a controversy over Justice Jahangiri's law degree, which first emerged in July. Then, the IHC decided to confront head-on the social media campaign with a robust institutional response. The IHC Bar Association (IHCBA) also threw its weight behind Justice Jahangiri.

The IHC on July 8 initiated contempt proceedings against the people allegedly running the smear campaign against Justice Jahangiri on social media platforms and issued notices to three journalists.