Reporting on Panama case: SC hears contempt of court case against Jang Group tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The Jang Group has submitted before the Supreme Court that it has not committed contempt and it’s beyond it to think of subscribing to any sort of notion which has the potential to be detrimental to the administration of justice, respect of judges or has a remote possibility of being contemptuous.

The story mentioned in the contempt notice issued to two newspapers ‘Daily Jang’ and ‘Daily The News’ of Jang Group was correctly published only in “Daily The News” and “Daily Dawn”. This story was unintentionally wrongly published by all other major newspapers of

Pakistan. A part of this story published in “Daily Jang” was also incorrect but the upper half of the Daily Jang on same day carried a completely correct version of the same story which was filed by senior journalist Tariq Butt.

In its reply submitted in the contempt notice, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and Mir Javed Rahman, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher/Printer Jang Group, submitted that the Jang Group was committed to maintaining efforts for upholding the independence and dignity of the judiciary and supremacy of the Constitution.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah will resume on January 24 hearing in the contempt case against Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and Mir Javed Rahman. The same bench will also take up contempt case against PML-N Senator Nihal Hashmi.

Last year on July 10, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsen, while hearing the Panama Papers case had issued contempt of court notices to the Jang Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Publisher/Printer Mir Javed Rahman and The News reporter Ahmad Noorani for misrepresenting its order on June 20, 2017 relating to an application filed by Hussain Nawaz seeking two reliefs including stopping the JIT from video recording of the proceedings relating to examination and interrogation of the witnesses.

In his second plea, Hussain Nawaz had requested constitution of a commission to inquire into the circumstances leading to the leakage of his footage, which the court had deferred until a reply from Attorney General viz-a-viz the inquiry report as to the leakage of image was received.

The court had directed Mir-Shakil-ur-Rahman, Mir Javed Rahman and Ahmad Noorani to submit their replies and asked them to appear before it in-person. In its reply, the Jang Group contended that none of the acts or omissions mentioned in the contempt notice is contemptuous towards the court or the honourable judges and prayed the apex court to withdraw the contempt notice.

It was contended that the Jang Group was determined to maintaining efforts for upholding the independence and dignity of the judiciary and supremacy of the Constitution and law and cannot even think of ridiculing the judges.

“The onus for contempt of court also may please not be attributed without any substance of malicious intent,” says the reply adding that innocence in reporting is evident when a comparison of reporting in 'The News' and Daily Jang is made with reporting by other newspapers, TV channels and news agencies.

The Jang Group submitted that it had a traceable legacy of struggling for and upholding honour, respect, dignity and independence of the judiciary and rule of law in Pakistan. “It is beyond imagination for Jang Group to think of subscribing to any sort of notion which has the potential to be detrimental to the administration of justice, respect of judges or has a remote possibility of being contemptuous,” the reply contended.

The Jang Group contended that The News correctly reported the entire order dated June 20, 2017, of the Supreme Court, adding that the heading of this reporting was in consonance with the Court Order as "SC dismisses Hussain's plea to halt video recording".

The other part of the order regarding other request of Hussain Nawaz about constituting a commission to inquire into leakage of his image was also correctly reported in The News dated 21-06-2017.

First part of the order regarding video recording was correctly reported in Daily Jang also on 21-06-2017; however, the other part of order about leakage of image was reported differently in Daily Jang the same day.

In his response to the contempt notice, Jang Group reporter, Ahmad Noorani submitted that he wanted to confirm information regarding some court’s directions of giving complete administrative control of the Panama JIT to the ISI for which he had contacted office of the registrar more than once.

Noorani submitted that upon no response from the registrar office, he contacted the publically available government landline telephone number of Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and quoted him correctly in his story. Noorani submitted proofs of past instances when apex court judges were contacted by the journalists regarding important national issues and were quoted in the news stories. No objection was ever made by the apex court about journalists contacting them over important national issues or quoting them in their stories in the past. One such story, submitted as evidence by Mr Noorani, quotes incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar.