Contempt of court: SC gives Imran Khan time till 11:30am to submit revised reply | PAKISTAN - geo.tv
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has given Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman, Imran Khan time till 11:30 am to submit his revised reply in the contempt of court case Friday, Geo News reported.
Imran Khan had earlier submitted a reply but the court termed it as “insufficient” and gave him time to review and submit it again.
PTI chief Imran Khan appeared before a three-judge bench of the SC in a contempt of court hearing today.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry comprised of Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Azmat Saaed heard the case.
Senior lawyer and PTI leader Hamid Khan Advocate represented Khan before the court, which slapped the cricketer-turned politician with a contempt notice for making critical and derogatory remarks against the institution.
Referring to Imran Khan’s press conference on July 26, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said that the PTI chief had said that the judiciary’s role was shameful in the 2013 general elections.
During the proceedings, Hamid Khan said that Imran Khan did not mean higher courts when he said “judiciary” during his press conference.
Hamid Khan argued that his client has never intended to demean the court, in fact he can never think of committing contempt of court. He has always stood for the supremacy of law and judiciary, as he believes in the rule of law, Hamid added.
Hamid Khan continued saying that Imran Khan had complaints against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and that he expects a lot from the top court and hopes that the judiciary will listen to him.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that Imran Khan had demanded the biometric confirmation of the voters in the four constituencies.
He said that Imran Khan should know about the constitution and asked his lawyer Hamid Khan to apprise his client about the constitution.
Later, the court gave Imran Khan time till 11:30 am to submit his revised reply in the court and adjourned the hearing till then.
At the occasion, a large number of PTI supporters gathered outside the SC building.
Khan, who appeared defiant ahead of the hearing, said that he will not extend apology over his stance and will stand firm as he was struggling for the democracy in Pakistan.
The SC issued him notice to appear before it on August 2 and explain as to why contempt of court proceedings may not be initiated against him.
Khan had criticized the role of the top court and the ECP in the conduct of the recently held general election, which saw Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N emerging as the single largest party in the National Assembly.
Imran Khan spent a busy day on Thursday with his legal advisors for consultation over the imminent proceedings in the court.
