Justice Shakirullah Jan made this remark and summoned Riaz to court on June 14. The Supreme Court issued the show-cause notice as per Article 204 of the Constitution and the contempt of court ordinance to Riaz.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on Wednesday, took suo motu notice of the press conference held by business tycoon Malik Riaz a day earlier.
A three member bench was constituted for the hearing of this suo motu case, headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan.
The hearing was adjourned till June 14.
Earlier, in a meeting held prior to hearing the day’s cases, the Supreme Court decided to summon the record for the press conference that business tycoon Malik Riaz held in defiance of the apex court.
As a result of the meeting, hearing of all cases began at 10am.
Riaz, on Tuesday, defied the court by holding a press conference pertaining to the Arsalan Iftikhar case.
With a pocket-sized copy of the Holy Quran in his hand, Malik Riaz hurled serious but contradictory charges against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his son.
He also claimed that there was no free judiciary in the country, saying that it was being run by a ‘don’, namely Arsalan Iftikhar.
Riaz had posed three questions to the chief justice, while daring the court to call him for contempt or to send him to jail.
Riaz's speech his own point of view, not mine: Bukhari
Malik Riaz’s counsel, Zahid Bukhari, while speaking to the media distanced himself from Riaz’s press conference held earlier, saying that he was bound only by the written statement he had presented in court and that Riaz’s speech yesterday was his own point of view.
“I am a part of the court’s proceedings. The answers and lawful objections were raised by me and I own them too,” said Bukhari, adding that as far as the press conference was concerned, it was “not conducted on any legal directives” by him.
“The points of view Malik Riaz gave there were his own and as you must have seen, I refused to answer any questions there.”
Upon being asked if this could lead to Riaz being held in contempt of court as he had discussed a case which was still being heard, Bukhari said, “No. If that is how it is then I can be held in contempt of court too”.
Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan also swore by the Quran, saying that he had not taken any money from Bahria town, and added that the chief justice’s son should be penalized if guilty.
COMMENTS (90)
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Somebody has fallen out of the principle of 'divide and devour', that is largely followed by the high-ups, otherwise all of this would not have come out in the public domain. Somebody must have demanded more than the due. Currently, the people of Pakistan are unable to decide whether the PM was able to raise a more corrupt son or CJ did. It’s all too messy.
@Abbas:
Correct, and nicely put.
Hasan
Our problem is fantacism with personality charisma. We don't want to listen a word against our heroes. CJP no doubt is a hero especially because of his firm standing against a military dictator. But he can commit faults just like other politicians, army men, anchors etc. A lot of questions are being raised against him, but before jumping to the conclusions let the dust be settle down! I am afraid if something goes against him, we Pakistani will lose confidence such that we may never trust anybody thereafter. I hope, for a better cause, CJP will come out safely in this terrible journey, where he is facing rocky seas and thunderstorms.
Why Imran and Nawaz are eager to extend support to CJ ? Are they intending to give bribe to him in other form .
@Pervaiz Lodhie: @Ali Pirzada: You both are right and this is what he is doing and as a result all will suffer. He should be declared mentally unfit for the job.
@Mohammad: Agreed!
Democracy in a country like pakistan cannot work! democracy cannot work in a country where the masses are uneducated and a plate of biryani can buy votes. One doesn't need democracy to prosper. China is a good example of this. I however am for democracy but in the case of Pakistan i just don't see it working.
Is this another Supreme Court process that goes nowhere like the PM found guilty but doesn't care, memogate affair and so many others? Are the 180 million Pakistanis seeing a totally powerless Supreme Court or Supreme Court is just a puppet on strings pulled sometimes by Government and sometimes by the Establishment.
Both should be punished the son of CJ and the Naval gangster. But on the grounds of reality. , but what will you do when President would excuse his punishment? These things are to be examined.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is an arrogant and ignorant man who has tampered with the system like no previous judge. Only when he'll retire people will understand the damage this man has done to this institution. Corruption is just one aspect, there are many other things of which the Judge is responsible, politicizing the judiciary, being played at the hands of the bar, siding with the agencies, victimizing the politician at the behest of the army, sacking his own colleagues and deliberately involving press (certain media groups that is) to make himself look like a hero.
Powerful People are at one page to destroy Judiciary.
If you want to lie publicly and don't want anyone to believe in Pakistan - Hold holu Qur'an in your hand!
He is so poor that he travel on chartered aero plane and then shamelesslly he occupied poor peoples properties but he is poor man who did not have money in 82 for his doughter medicin what a joke but he right he doing what our feudals and peerzaday does.
The Supreme Court would have done good by taking heed from the famous saying 'kawa chalay hans ki chaal apni chal bhi bhool gaya'. The judges started playing politics and now they have even forgotten how to use the legal system the proper way. There was nothing contemptuous in the press conference but alas the puppeteer be it Zardari or someone else has caused the PCO judges to jump into a quicksand, the more they shuffle their feet the more they get caught.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is an arrogant and ignorant man who has tampered with the system like no previous judge. Only when he'll retire people will understand the damage this man has done to this institution. Corruption is just one aspect, there are many other things of which the Judge is responsible for, politicizing the judiciary, being played at the hands of the bar, siding with the agencies, victimizing the politician at the behest of the army, sacking his own colleagues and deliberately involving press (certain media groups that is) to make himself look like a hero. Anyone with some sense of what an ideal judiciary should look like knows how this man is destroying the system.
@Khan: We didn't make a joke of the institutions! It was THE DON!
CJP is a strong character man;all the efforts of corrupt mafia couldnt pool up any single evidence against him.Good job CJP
We Have made joke of almost all the constitutions of Pakistan.
mr malik is a hero,he is self made,and has better record than shareef brothers and Imran khan he seemed very genuine and honest and if he is exposing judges then he is doing the nation a favour
@Riaz Khan: Really - are they tricks? He is submitting receipts, accounts, and if the CJ and the court pushes Malik Riaz, he will most certainly produce video recordings. Now that the court has established precedence by passing judgements in cases where the evidence was almost non-existent, then in this case, there appears (prima facie) to be "solid" and "irrefutable evidence".
@himidik.: It's the CJ who is taking up the fight! He took the so-called suo motto notice, not Malik Riaz.
@Much Amused: May be he is, so he will not! As it is, CJ's son and family have a struggle on their hand to clear their name.
How can one fight against the CJP? One shall simply be given a sentence on the contempt of court basis. My point here is that the CJP is untouchable and no one is able to levy corruption charges on him and he knows that. Making him just as corrupt as any politician. He uses his popularity as a curtain behind which he makes shady deals and ruin this country. He is no saint.
what is the publishing criterion of ET. ET seems to be working on purpose. My genuine remark not published.
@Pied Piper: adding some facts How come a clerk is flying in his own plane, hiring 07 generals, driving bullet car, with a son carrying morethan 12 cars each worth 1 crore
WoW my father served 42 years; got 03 master degrees could'nt built a single home throughout his life
Riaz Malik neatly played his cards, making CJ move out of the way, to call for another suo motu, though the case is being examined by an exclusive panel..
@Mohammad:
thats what happens when the country turns against an honest and sincere leader like pervez musharraf and elects goons and thugs to lead them. God will continue to test the country until we dont change our voting habits...soon.
Why is it so hard for People in this country to understand the concept that Respect is earned not entitled. Political parties want you to Respect their leaders, Court wants Respect for the judiciary, Pakistan wants Respect of its sovereignty. Yet none of the above is doing anything to actually earn that respect. The SC and CJ are clearly biased as demonstrated by how they choose cases and use Suo Moto. Political activists will take to the streets and destroy millions of Rupees worth of property and cause millions more in lost commerce to "protest" words against their leaders. Pakistan harbors foreign fighters from Yemen, Uzbekistan, etc, yet some how only sees the US as violating its sovereignty. Respect comes from consistent adherence to a set of principles. Freedom of speech must always trump bruised egos. Its time to clean house, revamp the entire constitution, written in simple understandable wording. Teach it in schools. Fire existing SC, term limits for all politicians, shrink bureaucracy. Govt should have rules to encourage private sector and regulate it, not try to do things themselves.
there were many great chief justices - no body remember c.j. saeeduzzaman siddiqui, who refused oath of 'pco' - a great man requires recognization - hats off to his lordship. .
@Pied Piper: a sifarish for a job - really was that it?! and now it is just about Rs300million?
so we should let billions get away just because we think his son might have stolen 0.3 billion? where is the sense in that.
lets stop getting hysterical about this and focus on the real issue
Come on! He maligned the entire judiciary and said that the whole supreme court works under influence. He was not only implicating CJ, but all other 16 judges as well., which is a clear cut contempt of court case.We stand by the judiciary and we stand for a fair trial for the son of CJ as well as malik riaz. That's it.
Malik Riaz is the whistle blower, and the court must not terrorize a witness.
This is commendable step by the SC. No matter how big of a tycoon you are, you are not allowed to ridicule the judiciary. Good step SC .
@Syed Sabir Shah:
This issue is not about Bahria Town. This is about Arsalan Iftikhar, his racket of corruption, and his promises to fix cases or put them in cold storage.
@Syed Sabir Shah: Why the CJP was sitting on those cases of Bahria Town for years without any real progress. Why fast track them now. This will mean only one thing that the bribes were talking previously. Pakistanis also wonder how much money PML-N has been giving to keep their cases in cold storage.
It was conflict of interest, now it is the obstruction of justice as well perpetuated by those who took oath of delivering justice. Shame on you!
@Anserali Khan: Honor and respect has already evaporated. Contempt of court trial will further damage it. This is the ultimate result of hyper activism of Iftikhar ch. Most leaders of lawers movement repeatedly warned about such outcome.
Today country is moving closer to another military rule and this time vthe blame will go to the hyperactive judiciary and media.
This appears to be a complete mockery of the justice system, not to mention the flaunting of the suo-moto clause. Question: is this not a conflict of interest that the CJ is taking these actions when he himslef is implicated in these activities? Isn't there anyone else to look after this apex court. If this CJ or the justice system was so fair, or we were part of any civilized nation, he should/would have himself stepped aside from all duties until these were 'blown over' or 'shrugged under the carpet' (the standard operating procedures in Pakistan) or to sum it up the deal was done. What a sham?
I still wonder on the paid puppets conducting talk shows everyday at night, when the accused is the son, nephew or a relative of a politician be it PPP, PMLN, PMLQ, they demanded resignation from these politicians ignoring the fact that their sons are independent in their doings just like Arsalan iftikhar ch. But the standards turn 180 degree when Arsalan get into this act. These anchors started saying that accused is independent in his own actions. Why don't they and the people who are listening to them use the same argument while commenting on politicians?
Malik Raiz might well be a corrput business man who has played by the rules of doing to doing business in Pakistan - greasing the palms of important people in the military, bureaucracy and politics to expand his real-estate empire. On the other side, Arsalan should have known that his father is the chief justice of PK and his corruption would reflect poorly on his father. Additionally, would the chief justice not ask his son about his sudden financial success? How does his son takes three trips to UK with his mother and sister ? What is the source of that money ? It is impossible to believe that chief justice was blind to his son's machinations. There is corruption written all over - both parties are guilty including the chief justice. At the minimum, he chose to ignore any information about his son that would force him to take action. He hand was forced by Malik Riaz.
wish 'comments moderation' should include grammatical quality as well.
This whole drama is being played with our tax money. Shame on all involved.
Court caught in the trap of malik Raiz . Try to cool down the matter otherwise daily talk shows will finish the creditability of court
CJ should fight with Riaz without taking refuge behing the castle walls of supreme court. This cout is not owned by him. It is owned by the 180 million people of Pakistan. If he continues to kill people, who call a spade a spade about him and his son under the guise of supreme court, the whole supreme court will become highy tainted and controversal. It is now the responsibility of the rest 16 learned judges of the court to save the institution of supreme court.Otherwise this man will destroy the very supreme court as he has destroyed all the institution of the State systemitically since 2006.
I think we should look at this from a different angle - Malike Riaz is trying to enter politics. After all, he is the best friend of AZ. Wonder whether he has been offered a top position?
Riaz Malik appears to be robbing the poor of their lands at meager prices and paying the rich in the form of luxury houses at premium prices. Its reverse Robinhood approach.
A small time contractor in 1996 turned neo-billionaire and now charging the highest court of the country.
At one time Malik Riaz was offering bullet proof vehicle to the CJP. Now he is calling him names. That spells out the integrity of the man. Simply stated thats mean.
If you catch a small time thief but then set him free for one reason or another then you are asking for trouble.
I think those advising the prime minister on moral grounds should take notice of this blatant violation of the 'conflict of interest' principle. The CJknows everything about the country but doesnt know about his home...hard to believe and isnt there any judge who can take sou motto of this??
The Supreme Court under CJ Iftikhar takes suo motu of Malik Riaz press conference. It sounds like Zia-ul-Haq's martial law when even a sentence against the martial law dictator was bound to bring 10 lashes for you... The CJ should go on LPR and fight his and his prima facie corrupt son"s cases as common citizen and not under the cover of Supreme Court....His efforts to save his son and his lost moral authority stand exposed. He loses all moral authority after the second suo motu.
@Mohammad:
I totally agree with you. When Musharraf was going I told friends, soon you can fill your fuel tank with "democracy" and light your house with "independent judiciary". We have come to that.
Points to Ponder:
A medical student in Pakistan does not graduate at the age of 23 2 years on house job Arsalan is 32 Years Old, A few years back he was looking for a job thru sifarish, an allegation on CJ by Retired General P Musharraf.What kind of business he is doing that lands him to spends vacations in London multiple times...........
LongLive Pakistan!! without corrupt Mafia. Aameen
we can not allow everyone to come and comment on the reputation of judiciary and honorable judges of the supreme court, did not you hear the rubbish language of that person speaking against the highest constitutional body of Pakistan. If this be spared somebody will dare to speak more filthy against judiciary. 'Nip the evil in the bud', this is what CJ did!!
Just wondering where is Imran Khan and PTI.Why are they so silent on this issue.
Guess they know which side of the bread is buttered.
@Umer: Conflict of interest much, too, civilized an expression----it is plain simple case of abuse of power, an arm twisting tactic, an iattempt to ntimidate a witness a party in a legal conflict. It must be stopped hence forth, people with personal interest have to be removed from the bench if this whole thing has to even appear like a fair trial.
We can simply call this a Hot Revenge.
@Anserali Khan: There's something called 'over-confidence'. Mr. Malik is being over-confident here, and that is one of the reasons a mans downfall starts.
Suo Moto is just a joke these days to make the Awam fool...and these guys just play their games...and keep themselves busy with these Motooss
@imransbb: bro what did he expect after that press conference.
@himidik.: Lol..... whose personal fight????? Can you explain plz.
A son, suddenly having million of rupees in his kitty and perks, goes goes unnoticed by his father living in the house. This is quite an unacceptable version, CJP must be knowing whats happening around his house and his house. I refuse to believe he had no knowledge.
Malik Raiz was seeming an arrogant , emotional, scared during the conference, perhapes he was not thinking about the consequences now he would be facing ,by the way, he provided homes only rich people while deprived poor from their lands, bougt from them but paid very low payment.
Let me order some popcorn and coke!
Malik Riaz is just a blackmailer, it's clear message to the supreme court esp CJP on missing persons, Bolichistan & other cases; poke ur noise from "our business". Game is on. Let's see who takes on; the people of Pakistan or the ones who "missed" them...?
So far Judiciary is protecting the ruling elite; how come criminals become head of state with courts sleeping
Dont care about Arsalan but he should not malign Chief Justice. Please have mercy on pakistan
Another Suo Muto! oh God What a country! what a judge we have! .
A billionare takes on the CJ. New money has done it. Body language of Riaz Malik in the press conference was all out aggression. He is absolutely sure of himself. Time will tell!
The press conference was a sad attempt by Mr Malik Riaz to scandelaize the Honourable Supreme Court and the respected judges. This has to be stopped.
Let justice be done
This "Suo-moto" thing is getting out of hand. I think a battle of egos is being played out instead of trying to get to the bottom of the case. Soon the public is going to be sick and tired of these power games which have no effect on their living conditions. They common man's plight is getting worse every day while the rich and famous want to show who is better.
If the matter is subjudice and can't be discussed, shouldn't comments on all news articles related to it be disabled? By allowing comments the newspaper can also be held liable for contempt.
Sad that Malik Riaz is using these third rate tricks to malign the CJ!
for GOD'S sake dont make S.C for personal 'fight'.
I wonder if Arsalan will sue Malik Riaz for calling him a "Don", running the judiciary etc.
lot of people in government are looking for opportunity to gang up on supreme court.
Judiciary should be very careful in proceeding in this case and tread this embarrassing journey cautiously. It must restore its image by showing impartiality and fairness other wise it may win this battle but loose the war.
PPP’s end game! After crushing other political parties in the country through mean politics, the puppeteer has decided to come up with his final showdown with CJ to ensure easy sail through coming months till general elections next year. And this is not the last target, some senior journalists will also get the fame for corruption.
Restoration of Judiciary didn't helped much Pakistanis, common man didn't get any kind of relief. Instead, country's booming economy come to an halt, several crisis power, flour, sugar arises, corrupt politicians are brought into power, foreign policy failed, relations with super powers turned ugly and things got from bad to worse.
Musharraf wisely said in his last speech to the nation "Pakistan ka Allah hi hafiz". If you sum up everything in one sentence than it will be like "for one person (CJ), we have almost destroyed our country.
I am with neither with supreme court nor with Malik Riaz, I want a prosperous Pakistan without PPP & PMLN.
Another suo motu? Oh man. There should be a limit on how may suo motu's a judge can take per minute.
Did Chaudhary also ask for Arsalan's financial records? No? Thought so. Why is Chaudhary still connected with matters regarding Malik Riaz? Isn’t it a clear conflict of interest?