Show-cause notice issued to AG Punjab for contemptuous conduct

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court bench has issued a show cause notice to Advocate General of Punjab Ahmad Awais under the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2002 for his contemptuous conduct he showed on Friday during the announcement of an order that suspended a joint investigation team (JIT) made by the provincial government to hold a fresh probe into the 2014 Model Town incident.

The three-judge bench in its written order observes: “The conduct of the advocate general and other law officers before this court is highly contemptuous. It shows that the AG and other law officers wanted constitution of a bench of their choice.”

Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan headed the bench with Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Aalia Neelum.

Though the suspension of the JIT came with a majority decision (Justice Qasim Khan dissented), the bench had a consensus in taking exception to the conduct of the AG and other law officers. “We observe that a sad incident took place in the court, which had never happened in the history of the Lahore High Court,” the judges say in the order.

Awais, along with dozens of other law officers, had appeared in the court at around 6pm when the judges were going to announce the verdict they reserved before Friday prayers and took possession of the rostrum. The principal law officer started shouting that the court could not pass any interim order, without giving him opportunity of hearing. He said he was planning to boycott the proceedings.

“He was warned time and again to control his volume but he and other law officers kept on shouting in the court and tried to pressurize the court so that if any adverse order is going to be announced, that may be changed in their favour,” the order recalls the situation. “It is evident from the perusal of the record that no notice so far has been issued to the respondents in this case and in our humble view, there is no need to hear the respondents for passing an interim order in favour of the petitioners,” reads the order.

Terming the conduct of Awais highly contemptuous, the bench issues a show cause notice to him with a direction to submit a reply as to why contempt proceedings under Sections 3 and 5 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2002 read with Article 204 of the Constitution may not be initiated against him. The bench would resume the hearing on April 1.