SC seeks response of lawyers' bodies in contempt case against Nehal Hashmi

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the presidents of the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Sindh High Court Bar Association to submit their respective comments in a case pertaining to the recent contemptuous remarks of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) loyalist Nehal Hashmi.

As the hearing began, Hashmi told the judges hearing the case that he put himself at the mercy of the court.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, who headed the bench, asked him if he can use for himself the language he had used for courts, to which he replied he had not passed any derogatory remarks about the court.

The chief justice reminded him that he not only committed contempt of court but abused the court as well.

He reprimanded the disqualified PML-N senator for lying about his contemptuous statement.

When asked to comment on the matter, Advocate Rasheed A Rizvi, a prominent lawyer from Karachi, said such remarks were not justifiable in any way.

He said he didn’t even issue such remarks about the judges who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Rizvi added lawyers’ bodies should have taken action in this regard.

The chief justice asked the lawyers’ bodies to explain if the court can revoke Hashmi’s licence or not.

The PML-N loyalist, who was disqualified as member of the Senate and awarded one-month jail term over contempt charges, engaged in severe criticism of the judiciary after his release from prison.