Contempt of court proceedings against Registrar and Deputy Registrar Security have been ended in the court of Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court.
The larger bench of the Islamabad High Court has accepted the appeals against the contempt of court proceedings of the Registrar and Deputy Registrar Security, and has issued a decision to terminate the contempt of court proceedings against Registrar Sardar Tahir Sabir and Deputy Registrar Security Muhammad Owaisul Hassan.
The larger bench comprising Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inam Amin Minhas issued the decision, which said that when there is no judicial or administrative order, contempt of court proceedings cannot be instituted against the appellants. The court was informed that the Pakistan Bar Council and the Islamabad High Court Bar had called for a strike on May 9, 2024.
According to the decision, the judge described the difficulties faced by lawyers in appearing in the courts as an obstacle to access to justice. According to the case record, the judge wrote a letter saying that the plaintiffs were prevented from reaching the court. The matter was first taken up with the Senior Peon Judge and then placed before the Administration Committee.
The Supreme Court said that the Senior Peon Judge said in the inquiry report on May 14 that the lawyers were not prevented from going to the court. The Islamabad High Court’s Administration Committee also reported on May 20 that no evidence of forcible stopping of the lawyers was found.
The decision said that Justice Babar Sattar heard the petition to restore the dismissed petition on non-prosecution on May 21, sought CCTV footage from the Registrar and declared the response unsatisfactory and initiated contempt of court proceedings. A show cause notice was also issued to the Deputy Registrar Security despite him being on leave on the day of the incident. The contempt of court proceedings against the Registrar and Deputy Registrar Security are terminated.
