SC issues show cause notice to Talal Chaudhry in contempt case

Supreme Court (SC) issued on Tuesday a show cause notice to Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry over his contemptuous remarks against the judiciary and ordered him to submit his reply in a week.

Once the hearing resumed, Chaudhry asked the bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justices Maqbool Baqar and Faisal Arab, to allow him three weeks time to finalize a counsel, local media reported. The court then granted him one-week time to finalize his counsel and adjourned the court proceedings.

Talal denies talking against Judges, courts

On February 2, the SC had issued Chaudhry a notice for delivering disrespectful remarks against the judiciary and had summoned him to appear on February 6 (today). While talking to a private news channel, Chaudhry, however, denied talking against the judiciary and said, “I neither made person specific discussion nor criticized judges during public meeting or media talks.’’

In a similar case last week, the SC found Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Nehal Hashmi guilty of contempt of court. The court disqualified him from holding public office for five years and also sent him to jail for a a month. The SC took suo motu notice of his speech, in which Hashmi threatened judges of apex court and joint investigation team members, probing offshore accounts of Sharif family.

Earlier, Lahore High Court had also issued notices to deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah over contempt of court petition filed against them.