The court was hearing a land allotment case. During previous hearings in the case, the court had barred CDA officials from meeting the former chief coordinator of the prime minister on Islamabad affairs, Faisal Sakhi Butt. The court had issued show-cause notice to two officials of the CDA – Director General Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu and Director Municipal Administration Mansoor Ali Khan – for meeting Faisal Sakhi Butt during the last hearing in the case on June 26. The court had also turned down their request for unconditional apology and reprimanded them.

On Monday, the court took strict notice of the ‘contemptuous behaviour’ of Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu and sent him to Adiala Jail. The court, in its order, said: “The mannerism of Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu has been arrogant and he kept staring at the court with anger as if he intended to give the message that he has no respect for the courts, judicial proceedings and any order passed therein. This court warned him to be careful but his consistent demeanour was tantamount to disturbing the order of the court. The court is convinced that the act of Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu is liable to be punished under Section 5 of the Contempt of Court Act 2003. He be taken into custody, kept at Adiala Jail and be produced again on July 3.”

During last hearing, the same bench had reprimanded Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials for their meeting with the former chief coordinator of the prime minister on Islamabad affairs, Faisal Sakhi Butt, and asked them not to play political games with the court. The court had also directed them to submit their replies.

The court, on June 19, while taking notice of media reports that the two officers of the CDA, Director General Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu and Director Municipal Administration Mansoor Ali Khan, ignored court orders, met Faisal Sakhi Butt and assured him loyalty, had issued show-cause notices to two officers while asking them to appear before the court on June 26.

The IHC bench, on May 14, while hearing a land allotment case of Fazal Hussain, had barred Faisal Sakhi Butt, the then chairman of the prime minister’s task force on CDA, to enter the premises of CDA. The IHC bench, in the same decision, had also directed to officials of the CDA not to visit the residence of Faisal Sakhi Butt in their official capacity.

The court has initiated all these proceedings in the matter of a Kashmiri refugee, Fazal Hussain, claiming land under the CDA laws. During previous hearing, the legal counsel of Fazal Hussain had told the court that all matters pertaining to the CDA had been looked after by the prime minister’s task force on Islamabad chairman, Faisal Sakhi Butt. The court initiated proceedings asking under what law this task force had been functioning. The court then suspended Butt’s notification as chairman of the task force. Meanwhile, Butt was re-designated from chairman of the task force to chief coordinator.