IHC dismisses contempt plea against Justice Saman as inadmissible

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a contempt of court petition filed by a female lawyer against Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz, terming it inadmissible and upholding the office’s objections.

Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, while disposing of the petition filed by Advocate Kulsoom Khaliq, ruled that the petition did not meet the procedural requirements to be entertained. The court noted that since the case was still at the stage of office objections, it was exercising restraint and therefore refrained from imposing a fine on the petitioner.

In his judgment, Justice Soomro observed that the order issued by Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz on June 23, 2025, merely contained an observation and did not pass any executable directive against the petitioner.

The court noted that the petitioner had unnecessarily made several individuals holding constitutional offices, including Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz, parties to the contempt petition. It emphasized that individuals in constitutional positions cannot be named in such petitions without concrete evidence. The ruling underscored that no judge of a higher court has the authority to initiate contempt proceedings against another serving judge of the same court. The appropriate course, it stated, is to approach the Supreme Judicial Council through internal judicial processes or under Article 209 of the Constitution.

Advocate Kulsoom Khaliq had contended in her petition that she was denied a license to practice before the Supreme Court due to the remarks made by Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz in her earlier order.