IHC suspends sentences of Islamabad DC, SSP, SHO in contempt case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday suspended sentences of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Malik Jameel Zafar and Station House Officer (SHO) Margalla Police Station in a contempt case.

The court, however, suspended their sentences for one month and allowed them to file appeals. The appeals were filed on the same day.

Earlier this month, a single-member bench comprising Justice Babar Sattar convicted these officials of repeatedly issuing and executing detention orders against PTI leader Shehryar Afridi and sentenced them to six, four and two months imprisonment, respectively. The court order said that the convicts should be taken into custody and send them to Adiala Jail if they do not file appeals to suspend sentences within 30 days.

A two-member Division bench Of IHC, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the intra-court appeals against the sentences on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon appeared in the court along with his counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi, SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar with his lawyer Shah Khawar, while SHO Police Station Margalla Nasir Manzoor appeared in the court with his lawyer Imran Feroze Malik.

Shah Khawar Advocate stated that according to law, the court can suspend the sentence when an appeal is filed.

Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb inquired which order was violated, to which Raja Rizwan Abbasi said that Shehryar Afridi’s MPO order was issued.

Justice Aurangzeb remarked: “The Islamabad police do not even look at our injunction. If we stop them from arresting someone, they flaunt our orders, and when they’re held for contempt of court, they come seeking pardon.”

The court in its short order, suspended the sentences till the next hearing, the date for which will be announced later by the Registrar’s Office.