A NUMBER of contempt of court proceedings are currently underway in different courts in Pakistan.

On May 17, 2024, the Supreme Court took notice of press conferences by Faisal Vawda and Mustafa Kamal regarding the judiciary. The court found that their comments prima facieconstitute contempt of court and gave them an opportunity to submit written explanations within two weeks. The court warned television channels that broadcasting or publishing material that constitutes contempt of court may also be contempt, so they should desist from doing so.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court initiated contempt proceedings in response to Justice Babar Sattar’s letter informing the chief justice of the IHC of a “malicious social media campaign” against him. The court found there is prima faciematerial indicating “personal criticism” of the judge and “scandalising of the court”. The IHC also noted that demanding Justice Sattar’s recusal from a case before him prima facie amounted to “obstruction of the course of justice”.

Around the same time, Justice Mohsin Kayani requested the IHC to initiate contempt of court proceedings under Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance (relating to ‘judicial contempt’) in response to certain allegations made against him in the media. A notice was issued to advocate Waqas Malik, who reportedly filed a complaint against Justice Kayani before the Supreme Judicial Council for, among other things, “waging war against the Pakistani state”. Notices were also issued to journalists Matiullah Jan and Talat Hussain, who interviewed advocate Waqas Malik regarding his........

© Dawn