SC adjourns hearing of PM contemp case till March 21

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SC adjourns hearing of PM contemp case till March 21

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The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of PM contempt of court case till March 21.

08 March,2012 08:04 am

The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of contempt of court case of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani till the 21st of this month.During the course of proceedings‚ the seven member bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk said if Prime Minister Gilani does not want to appear in person before the Court‚ it should submit its written reply by 19th of this month. If the Prime Minister wants to appear before the bench it may record his statement on 21st of this month.Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq cross-examined Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi during Thursday’s proceeding.Earlier on Wednesday, PM’s attorney Aitzaz presented two summaries of Law Ministry as evidence to SC in PM contempt case.The defendant’s witness Nargis Sethi also got her statement recorded in the court.Aitzaz Ahsan submitted two summaries sent to the PM in the court. Justice Nasirul Mulk said the copies of the summaries should have been submitted earlier to the registrar office.The defendant’s witness and PM’s ex-principal secretary informed the court that she had held this office from December 15, 2008 to January 17, 2011. This was the period during which the PM oversaw the issues concerning the federation and the Council of Common Interests, she maintained.She also verified the summary sent to the PM on May 21 2010, along with other documents. She also verified Justice Aaqil Mirza’s provisional report. The attorney general objected to it by saying that the summaries could only be verified by the one who prepared them.Aitzaz Ahsan maintained that summaries have been presented to prove that the prime minister had acted upon the rules of business.The bench on the plea of Aitzaz Ahsan‚ Counsel of the Prime Minister‚ had summoned Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi to appear before the court as a witness.Aitzaz had submitted a list of witnesses in the Supreme Court which also included the names of Babar Awan and Law Secretary Masood Chishti. He also prayed the court to call them as witness in the case.It was said in the application moved in the Supreme Court that that the prime minister, in his personal capacity, did not wish to exercise official power in directing any official to appear as a defence witness. The application, however, also stated that the officials should be summoned by court in the capacity of court witnesses.However, Babar Awan declined to oblige, saying he had been a lawyer in the NRO review case; therefore, he was not eligible to appear as a witness. He said if he appeared as a defence witness, it would be tantamount to professional misconduct.Similarly, Law Secretary Masood Chishti offered regrets to appearing as a court witness, saying he too had appeared as a counsel in the NRO review petition.