Contempt case: Talal fails to present witnesses in defence

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday once again turned down PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry’s plea to hear a contempt of court case against him after the general elections scheduled on July 25.  

A bench of the apex court adjourned the hearing of the case until Wednesday with direction for the former minister’s lawyer to come prepared on next hearing to forward his concluding arguments.

Justice Gulzar asked the counsel to present his final arguments over failure to present witnesses in his client’s defence despite being provided a last chance for the purpose.

At the previous hearing, the judges had given the PML-N leader the last opportunity to present, if any, witnesses in his defence.

The Supreme Court had launched contempt of court proceedings against Talal Chaudhry  for railing against the judiciary at a rally in the wake of former premier Nawaz Sharif’s ouster in the Panama Papers case last year.

At PML-N’s Jarianwala public meeting, the PML-N leader had bitterly criticized the judiciary, saying: “There was a time when the Kaabah was full of idols. Today, the judiciary is also full of PCO judges.”

He had asked the party chief to throw “those judges out because they will not do justice.”