Contempt of court: LHC suspends sentences awarded to Mandi Bahauddin DC, AC

LAHORE: Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Ameer Bhatti on Monday suspended three-month sentences awarded to Mandi Bahauddin Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tariq Basra and Assistant Commissioner (AC) Imtiaz Ali in contempt of court case.

The CJ LHC issued the order on separate appeals filed by the convicts challenging their convictions and sentences.

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A judge of the consumer court had recently convicted Mandi Bahauddin DC and AC for contempt of court and had awarded three-month imprisonment.

During the hearing today, the counsel for the appellants argued that the consumer court had “illegally awarded sentences to both government officials” and pointed out that the consumer court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

After hearing the initial arguments, CJ LHC suspended sentences of both convicts and summoned a record of the case from the trial court.

Conviction of DC and AC      

On November 26, consumer court judge Rao Abdul Jabar Khan (district and sessions judge) Mandi Bahudin had held summary proceedings under Section-228 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and convicted both officers for three months imprisonment each.

The district police officer was also directed to send them to Gujrat jail in safe custody.

The consumer court judge was hearing the case when litigation officer Rana Mehboob appeared before him on behalf of the AC and said derogatory remarks in a threatening tone. He not only declined to accept the authority of the court but also kept on insulting the judge.

Resultantly, issuing a show-cause notice, the consumer court awarded him a three-month sentence under Section-228 PPC after holding him guilty of interfering in the judicial work.

Meanwhile, AC Ali also appeared before the consumer court and tried to defend the litigation officer.

Later, the judge received a call from DC Basra, and he asked him to free the litigation officer. DC told the judge that Mehboob was mentally unstable and had misbehaved with an LHC judge earlier too. The LHC judge then pardoned Mehboob after he tendered an unconditional apology.

It was reflected that Mehboob was sent by the DC and AC to misbehave with the court as he was appearing on their behalf. The conduct of the DC was also not up to the mark and this amounted to interference in the judicial proceedings, the judge ruled in the conviction order.

“In view of the matter, the offence u/s 228 PPC against the Assistant Commissioner (Imtiaz Ali) and the Deputy Commissioner (Tariq Basra) has also been proved, and this is the summary proceedings, so, I convict Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner u/s 228 PPC, the written order said.

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Section-228 of the PPC reads as under Intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in the judicial proceeding: “Whoever intentionally offers any insult or causes any interruption to any public servant, while such public servant is sitting in any stage of a judicial proceeding, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to [three thousand rupees], or with both.”

The consumer court judge had also issued a show-cause notice to President District Bar Association MB Din Zahid Yar Gondal for threatening him to withdraw the conviction order.