SC accepts Nehal Hashmi's apology, drops contempt case

The Supreme Court (SC) accepted on Tuesday former Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) senator Nehal Hashmi's apology and wrapped up the contempt of court case against him.

According to local media reports, the representatives of the bar council requested the SC to spare Hashmi and drop the charges against him. The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar then asked Hashmi to tender an apology after which the court will take further action. The CJP further said that the court did not want Hashmi's descendants to suffer.

SC refuses to spare Nehal Hashmi in contempt of court case

On Monday, the SC had been expected to indict Hahsmi over his anti-judiciary speeches. During the hearing, Hahsmi had apologized and asked for forgiveness but the apex court had dismissed his apology, saying that the bench will no spare him.

The SC had asked the presidents of Supreme Court Bar Association and Pakistan Bar Council to give their opinion regarding Hashmi's law licence. The hearing had then been adjourned till today.

The SC also took suo motu notice of Hashmi's fiery speech last year in May, targeting the judiciary and the joint investigation team members, who were probing offshore accounts of Sharif family.

Announcing its verdict, the SC barred Hashmi from holding public office for a period of five years and sent him to jail for a month.The three judge bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, also slapped a fine of Rs.50,000 on him. After SC’s verdict, Hashmi was taken into custody.