By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday withdrew a contempt notice against a senior court official, Nazar Abbas, who had been accused of failing to schedule a hearing in a case before a regular bench that has sparked intense debate about the court’s jurisdiction.
The decision, handed down by a two-judge bench led by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, marked a significant reversal in the court’s stance. Abbas had been removed from his position as additional registrar (judicial) last week.
The contempt notice had been issued after a case challenging the jurisdiction of the court’s regular benches was not scheduled for hearing on Jan. 20 as ordered.
However, Justice Shah said on Monday that Abbas had not deliberately violated the court’s orders. “The court has arrived at the conclusion that the additional registrar (judicial) did not deliberately violate the court orders,” Justice Shah said. “There is no indication of mala fide intent in his actions.”
Justice Shah further stated that neither the apex court found any proof that showed that the SC official had any personal interest in the case nor was any evidence found of any “ill intent.”
“We find that the additional registrar (judicial) did not have any personal interest in the case, nor was there any evidence of ill intent.”
Subsequently, the senior puisne judge announced that the bench was withdrawing the show-cause notice over contempt of court against Abbas.
In its ruling, the court said that the committees’ decisions had “illegally nullified the judicial orders and unlawfully deprived the regular bench of its judicial power to decide the jurisdictional question raised before it.”
“It can be held unequivocally that no administrative authority, including the Committees constituted under Section 2 of the Act and 191A of the Constitution, can, by an administrative order, undo the effect of a judicial order,” the court judgment read.
The court referred the matter to the chief justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, to determine whether a full court should consider contempt proceedings against the committees.
Last week, Registrar Muhammad Saleem Khan had explained that the case was not fixed on January 20 because of two decisions — by the regular committee constituted under Section 2 of the SC Practice and Procedure Act, and the constitutional committee set up under Article 191(A)(4) of the Constitution.
The court also ordered that the main case be rescheduled for hearing before the original three-judge bench, comprising Justices Shah, Ayesha A. Malik, and Irfan Saadat Khan, in the first week of February.
The question of jurisdiction had arisen on January 13, when a three-judge bench led by Justice Shah heard the federal government’s petition against a Sindh High Court’s decision to strike down Section 221-A(2) of the Customs Act, 1969.
The applicant had argued that the regular bench could not hear the case as it involved challenges to the constitutionality of laws.
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