A fresh controversy has surfaced over bench reconstitution at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), with Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani-led larger bench, previously hearing quota-related cases, replaced by a new panel.
The former bench also included Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and had last held a hearing on March 6, setting April 10 as the next date.
According to the IHC website, the new larger bench has been constituted under Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and comprises Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Inaam Amin Minhas.
The latest shuffle is part of a series of bench changes witnessed by the court in recent months.
Notably, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan was also hearing a contempt of court case against the superintendent of Adiala Jail for denying meetings with PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.
During the hearing, Superintendent Ghafoor Anjum had requested that cases related to Imran Khan's meetings and contempt charges be clubbed together.
Acting CJ Dogar subsequently constituted a three-member larger bench and disposed of the cases with instructions. However, Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan initiated a separate suo motu contempt proceeding that remains ongoing.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday suspended the contempt of court show-cause notices issued to the director general (DG) of Immigration and Passports and a NAB director, while also seeking the complete record of the writ petition and contempt proceedings from the court of Justice Babar Sattar.
A two-member bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif issued the suspension order after hearing an appeal filed by the DG Immigration and Passports.
The court noted that the objection on the appeal had been removed, and directed that the matter be fixed for hearing on the same day.
The contempt notice had earlier been issued by a single bench in connection with a petition seeking the removal of a name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
According to the counsel, the court had not just granted interim relief but provided final relief by suspending the order of placing the petitioner's name on the no-fly list.
The lawyer contended that the DG of Immigration and Passports had acted on NAB's request and did not arbitrarily include the petitioner's name in the ECL. He argued that the show-cause notice issued to the DG Immigration and Passports was therefore unlawful.
The IHC bench observed that the grounds raised in the appeal were worthy of consideration and issued notices to all parties, seeking their responses. It also directed the court office to attach the complete record of the writ petition and contempt proceedings to the appeal file.
The original contempt notice had been issued by Justice Babar Sattar over the repeated non-compliance of court orders regarding the removal of the petitioner's name from the no-fly list, allegedly added on the recommendation of NAB.
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