SC to hear Sarina Isa’s contempt plea against Fawad on Monday

ISLAMABAD: The contempt petitions of Sarina Isa have been fixed for Monday April 19 before a 10-member larger bench of the apex court hearing a review petition of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, according to a supplementary cause list issued by the Supreme Court.

The larger bench, headed by Justice Umer Ata Bandial, will resume hearing at 11:30am in courtroom No 1 in the review petition filed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa against the last year's June 19 order of the apex court to the extent of referring the matter to the Federal Board of Revenue, directing to initiate tax proceedings against the spouse and children of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The court had quashed the Presidential Reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa for allegedly not disclosing his foreign properties in his wealth returns and halted the proceedings pending in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the Judge as well as the show-cause notice issued to him on July 17, 2019. Seven judges of the bench had referred the matter to the Federal Board of Revenue, directing to initiate tax proceedings against the spouse and children of Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Later, Justice Qazi Faez Isa as well as several bar associations had challenged the apex court decision to the extent of the matter, referred to the Federal Board of Revenue.

Also, Sarina Isa, wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, had prayed to the apex court to initiate a contempt of court proceedings against Fawad Chaudhry, punishing him, removing him from his office and directing him to close his Twitter account permanently, because he has displayed utter contempt of the apex court, misused his office and violated his oath of office. The minister had said: "[I have been] listening to the speeches of an under-trial judge of the SC since the past week. If [I] answer [them], then the lectures about being saddened to being insulted will begin."

Sarina Isa in her application had submitted that Fawad's tweet "confirmed that secret cameras have been installed in the courtroom because he was hearing all that happened in [there], despite never having once attended a single hearing". Similarly, she while referring to the term godfather, used by Fawad Chaudhry in his tweet said the word is used for criminal syndicates and mafia bosses and is thus, "highly offensive to the dignity and respect of the apex court which constitutes gross contempt."