Justice Babar Sattar orders continuing single bench contempt proceedings against immigration DG, NAB director

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court’s Justice Babar Sattar has ordered continuing with the court proceedings under a single bench despite the division bench’s order to stay the contempt- of-court-proceedings against the immigration and passports director general and NAB director.

Questions were raised on the powers of the division bench. Justice Babar Sattar remarked that the high court is a constitutional court, and the division bench cannot stop a high court judge from conducting a case.

This is the first time in history that a division bench has stopped a high court judge from conducting a case on an interim order.

Justice Sattar asked what powers the acting chief justice has to transfer a case from one judge to another. He said he has so many cases, and asked if the chief justice will transfer any of them to another bench. He said he would write a detailed judgment regarding this case. Justice Babar Sattar heard a contempt-of-court case against the immigration and passports DG and NAB director for not removing the name of a citizen, Mohammad Sohail, from the travel ban list despite a court order.

The assistant attorney general said that the March 12 order of this court regarding the contempt-of-court proceedings has been suspended by the division bench.

Justice Babar Sattar observed that the division bench cannot make such an order on an interim order, and for this you have to go to the Supreme Court. If the single bench declares it null and void, then you can go to the division bench. The assistant registrar told the court that he had received an administrative order to place this case under the division bench.

Justice Sattar inquired the deputy registrar why he did not issue the cause list of this case, and who had stopped him. The deputy registrar said that no one has stopped him, and if a case goes to the division bench, the cause list of the single bench of the case is not issued.

Justice Sattar said that his court order was to issue the cause list of this case. The deputy registrar said the entire matter is done on computer, and the list that comes there is marked.

The court remarked if his powers now based on a computer. It said the IT system is not everything; the high court has its own powers.

The court observed that it understood why deputy registrar is hesitating, and directed him to file his response and then the court will issue an order regarding the powers of the high court.

The court further observed that it had issued show-cause notice to the deputy registrar, bur he would not punished him and law would take its own course.