Contempt case: Supreme Court rejects Awan’s apology

Apex court says former law minister's apology will be considered after he is indicted.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has refused to accept the apology letter of former law minister Babar Awan in the contempt of court case against him, Express News reported on Wednesday.

A two-member bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal, remarked that the issue of apology will be looked into after Awan is indicted.

The former law minister was prosecuted for contempt of court adjudication after he criticised an apex court verdict handed down on December 1, 2011, pertaining to the formation of a judicial commission to probe the Memogate scandal.

Awan tendered an ‘unconditional apology’ to the Supreme Court last week, specifically to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, for his remarks.

In his letter, Awan had stated that his comments regarding the judiciary were unintentional, based on inadvertence and that he was offering an unconditional apology for his utterances that have been found prima facie to be disrespectful by this bench.