LHC issues arrest warrants for editor & reporter
LAHORE – Arrest warrants were issued on September 27, against the editor and the court reporter of daily The News for skipping appearance in a contempt-of-court case.
Justice Sheikh Abdul Rashid of the Lahore High Court (LHC), while hearing a contempt plea, also renewed summons against the newspaper’s owner, Mir Shakilur Rehman, requiring him to appear personally at the next hearing on October 12.
The three were charged with contempt of court when they published a news item involving a former Lahore corps commander General Zarar Azeem. On a September 15 hearing, the court had directed the Lahore police to bring the three to court on September 27.
The editor Saleem Bokhari and reporter Rizwan-uz-Zaman Razi have been appearing in the court ever since the first court order.
However, Mr Rehman was never present at any hearing. However, on September 27, none of the respondents turned up in court after which arrest warrants in the names of the two newspaper employees, against bonds of Rs50,000 each, and a notice to Mr Rehman to appear in court were re-issued.
Meanwhile, the LHC, while taking up suo moto contempt proceedings on September 27, has restrained private TV channel Geo from telecasting any programme, debate or documentary on the partial demolition of the west wing of the LHC building.
The bench of Justices Sheikh Abdul Rashid and M Bilal Khan directed the Geo TV to file its charter of policy to explain what kind of programme it can transmit by October 27.
Source: Daily Times
Date:8/28/2004
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