Contempt of court: Housing secretary summoned to court

He was ordered to reverse the transfer of an engineer, but he suspended him.

LAHORE:

Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday summoned the housing and urban development secretary to court. He is accused with contempt of court.

The notice was issued after the secretary submitted a written reply to the contempt of court charge. The petition has been filed by an engineer accusing the secretary of not implementing the court’s order in a matter of his transfer.

Naveed Zia said he had filed a petition before the same court challenging his transfer “which had been made on political basis” and the court had directed the secretary to reverse the transfer order. But instead of reversing the transfer, the secretary had suspended him from service. Zia said the secretary should be tried for contempt of court for this.

On behalf of the secretary, a law officer submitted a written reply wherein he said that transfers and suspension of officials were policy matters and that the courts had no authority to interfere in them.

The court reprimanded the law officer and summoned the secretary to court on April 7 with his reply to a show cause notice explaining why he should not be tried for contempt of court.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2014.