SC indicts Mirza for contempt: Nobody can give such a statement against judiciary on his own, says CJP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday indicted Iftikhar-ud-Din Mirza for contempt of court for using derogatory, contemptuous and scandalous language against the judiciary in a video that went viral last month, giving him a week to respond to the charges.

A two-member bench led by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed framed charges against the alleged contemnor and directed his counsel to consult him if he pleads guilty or not to the charges. The court expressed dissatisfaction over two replies submitted by the alleged contemnor. "The replies more or less are the same and we have considered both the replies and are altogether not satisfied and thus find the case to be one on which the charge needs to be framed against the alleged contemnor,” the court noted in its order. The court framed charges against the alleged contemnor whose counsel Sarkar Abbas sought time to consult his client.

The attorney general submitted to the court that he has not received the copy of the affidavit filed by the spouse of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and he will go through the same and give his response on the next date of hearing.

Earlier, Mirza apologised to the court, saying that he was ashamed of his remarks. “I ask forgiveness from you as a Muslim,” he said. “I apologise for my statements in the video.” Mirza said he had no knowledge of the editing and uploading of the video.

The chief justice, however, took strong exception to the derogatory language used in the video. “This is not a case of forgiveness. You cannot mock the judiciary, in this way, Pakistan’s entire system will fail,” the CJP remarked. He said nobody can give such a statement against judiciary on his own. He directed the attorney general to give his reply on the next hearing after going through the affidavit.