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Pakistan

SC resumes hearing of contempt law case

Dunya News

Supreme Court has resumed hearing of petitions filed against newly enacted contempt of court law.

The five-member bench of Supreme Court, comprising Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jilani resumed the hearing of various identical petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act 2012 .During yesterday’s proceedings, parliamentary record of the debate over contempt bill was presented before the bench.Giving arguments, one of the petitioners lawyer, Sheikh Ahsanuddin, said that the all those parliamentarians who favoured the bill deviated from their oath. He said all the legislation was completed before June 27 since attorney general was given the deadline to submit government’s reply in writing letter to Swiss officials, adding that the new law was enacted to protect the new prime minister from disqualification.After hearing the debate, Justice Jawad S Khawaja remarked that parliamentary proceedings are protected under Article 69 of the Constitution and it cannot be challenged in the court, however, the court can review the debate.