ISLAMABAD: Turning down a local Pakistan People’s Party leader Masoodur Rehman Abbasi’s apology in contempt of court case, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that he will be indicted on the next hearing.
The four-judge bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, said it would frame charges against Abbasi in the next hearing, a date for which would be fixed later.
The court also appointed the attorney general as the prosecutor in the case.
Justice Mazahir Naqvi, a member of the bench, asked the Federal Investigation Agency to ascertain on whose directives the PPP leader made the speech. “Such a speech is not possible without a well-thought-out plan,” he remarked.
“I am a poor person and apologise to the court,” Abbasi said. “I am the sole provider of my two wives and seven children.”
At this, the bench said that the PPP leader should have thought all this before making contemptuous remarks against the chief justice of Pakistan.
“Due to my troubles, I don’t know what I uttered. Judges are like fathers for me,” said the PPP leader as he pleaded forgiveness, adding that he was ready to apologise in whatever manner the court ordered.
To this, Justice Ijazul Ahsan recalled that in the video Abbasi had said if the court summoned him, he would “show the court its status”.
“What does the chief justice have to do with the atom bomb and missile [technology]? This way anyone can apologise after making insulting statements,” Justice Ahsan added.
Justice Bandial asked Abbasi who had told him that the chief justice was “sector in-charge of a political party” to which the latter replied that no one had told him and he had said so himself.
FIA officials informed the court that they were investigating Masoodur Rehman and assured them that they won’t give any concession to whoever is found backing him.
On July 1, a special court remanded the PPP leader in the FIA custody in the contempt case. Senior Civil Judge Aamir Aziz approved the physical remand of Masoodur Rehman Abbasi until July 4.
Abbasi, an office-bearer of the PPP’s Karachi chapter, is facing contempt of court charges for uttering derogatory remarks against the CJP at a public gathering. In a video and audio clip circulated on social media websites, the PPP leader could be seen making indecent and disrespectful remarks about the judiciary.
The investigation officer produced him before the court and requested that his custody be handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency for ten days for investigation. However, the court approved his physical remand until July 4. Abbasi was arrested on Wednesday night.
The court said it would review similar cases of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Nehal Hashmi, Daniyal Aziz, Talal Chaudhry and others.
Earlier this week, after having examined the report of the FIA, which found the video clip of Abbassi as genuine, the Supreme Court directed him to submit a written reply in the matter.
A four-member SC bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial had issued a show-cause notice to Masood-ur-Rehman Abbasi, general secretary of PPP in PS-114 constituency, on his derogatory speech against the chief justice.
During the course of the hearing, Justice Bandial asked whether the PPP leader admits that he has delivered controversial speech. Responding to the query of another member of the bench, Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked Abbasi if he was in senses when he made the speech in question, the latter submitted, “No, I was not in my senses.”
Abbasi’s video surfaced after the top court Karachi registry heard a case on June 15 where Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed irked by the PPP-led Sindh government’s failure to attend to the civic issues of Karachi said there seems to be no government in Sindh and the system is being run by influential persons from Canada, London or Dubai.
On Monday, appearing before the bench, Abbasi requested the court for permission to express his stance about the speech in question to which Justice Bandial plainly asked him to submit in writing whatever he intends to say.
A contempt proceeding was been initiated against Abbasi on account of derogatory and contemptuous language wherein notices were issued to Attorney General for Pakistan, FIA, Pemra and a show-cause notice to Masoodur Rehman Abbasi through IG Sindh in the matter.
The PEMRA official apprised the bench that no television channel has disseminated Abbasi’s speech.
A member of the bench Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked whether offensive content has been removed from Facebook, to which Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official responded that once the FIA completes the evidence-gathering process in the matter, the content in question would be removed from the site. He further submitted that ongoing investigation would be affected if the content is removed from the site.
Justice Bandial directed the FIA to collect admissible evidence, saying PTA should be informed about evidence being collected. Justice Bandial directed that the PTA should remove controversial content from social media platforms once the FIA completes the process of evidence gathering.
Later, issuing directives to the PPP leader to submit a reply in response to the contempt charges, the bench adjourned a hearing of the matter till July 2.
