Columnist indicted for contempt Of court
ISLAMABAD: The full court comprising 14 judges of the Supreme Court on Tuesday indicted Ardeshir Cowasjee, a newspaper columnist, for committing contempt of court.
Mr Cowasjee pleaded not guilty and said he would defend himself. The court adjourned the proceedings till Nov 8 on the request of his counsel who said he needed time to submit a detailed statement and “consider other options available to him”.
On Tuesday when the proceedings started Abdul Hafeez Pirzada stated that the court could not proceed without framing charges against his client.
The strength of the bench was increased from 12 to 14 judges, leaving out only one, Justice Mamoon Kazi, who is on leave.
The CJ observed that the court was of the view that in the presence of the statement of the accused in which he had admitted that he had made certain remarks about the judiciary, was before the court, there was no need to frame charges. The counsel, however, insisted that the framing of charges was a legal requirement.
The CJ said that the contempt of court proceedings were not criminal in nature, but if the counsel insisted on an indictment the court would frame charges.
The counsel further stated that a notice to the attorney general was mandatory in contempt proceedings. He was told by the court that under Rule 3 of Order 29 of the Supreme Court Rules, the attorney general meant the deputy attorney general.
At 10.30am the court rose with the announcement that it would assemble again at 11.30 and would read out the charges to the accused. it reassembled at 15 minutes past noon.
The charge read out was: “You, Ardeshir Cowasjee of 10, Mary Road; Bath Island, Karachi, as participant of the programme “Qaumi Amoor Tajzia” telecast by the PTV Centre Karachi at 9.34pm till 10.02pm on 19-10-1999 and also, on the same day, made the following statement about the country’s judiciary and judges: “Today judiciary has no respect. The judiciary has killed itself. The judiciary is corrupt. The government made it corrupt. The government has got a book on all the judges. The people looked down on the judges. The higher, the judge, the lower he is looked own upon. “Judiciary can never demand respect. I mean these guys can threaten us that we will take you to court and charge you with contempt case. But it’s all nonsense. They should command respect and that will take long time to come, everything is corrupt”.
“By such statements, which you have owned in your written statement dated 25-10-1999 filed in response to the show-cause notice issued to you, you have scandalized the superior courts of the this country and the judges comprising such courts and tended to bring them into hatred, ridicule and contempt and such statements were also intended to and tended to bring the authority of the superior courts and the administration of justice of law into disrespect and disrepute, and have thus committed contempt of this court and the high courts of the country and rendered yourself liable to punishment under Article 204 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with sections 3 and 4 of the Contempt of Courts Act 1976.
“We, hereby, call upon you to show cause why you should not be punished.
“Do you plead guilty?”
Mr. Cowasjec pleaded not guilty. The court asked his counsel if his client had anything to say in his defence. The counsel said his client would submit a detailed statement and also needed time to “consider other options available to him”.
The court was asked to adjourn the case at least for two weeks. The CJ said the court would take up the matter next Monday but later the date was changed to Nov 8.
The full court consisted of Chief justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, Justice Raja Afrasiab Khan, Justice Bashir Jehangiri, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice Munawar Ahmed Mirza, justice Khalilur Rehman Khan, Justice Ijaz Nisar, Justice Abdur Rehman Khan, Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, justice Chaudhry Mohammad Arif, justice Munir A. Sheikh. Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, and Justice Kamal Mansur Alam.
Source: Dawn
Date:10/27/1999
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