Issuing another show cause notice to former law minister and newly-appointed vice president of PPP Babar Awan, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday asked him to furnish a reply till January 09, explaining why his name must not be removed from the Roll of Advocates of the apex court for ridiculing the higher judiciary.
An 11-member bench of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been hearing the Bhutto reference case. The bench issued its second show cause notice to Awan in two days for ridiculing the court. On January 4, a two-member bench of the SC issued show cause notices to five leaders of PPP including Babar Awan. They have been directed to submit their replies by January 13, on the alleged use of contemptuous language against the higher judiciary at a press conference held at Press Information Department (PID) on December 1.
After he ruled that the Bhutto reference would be heard later, the CJP asked Awan why he ridiculed the notices issued to PPP leaders. Awan replied that he had infact praised the judiciary and that he had not ridiculed the court.
Awan also submitted that in the past he had been charged with criminal cases for appearing as a counsel in Benazir Bhutto's and Asif Ali Zardari's cases. The Chief Justice directed the court crew to set up a plasma TV set in the courtroom and play Awan's recorded remarks.
The CJP observed that no one had the right to ridicule courts, saying Awan's behaviour was not appropriate. He asked Awan: "If you do not respect the state's institutions, then who would?" "How can things move forward without respect for the judiciary," the Chief Justice maintained. He further said that interaction between the Bench and the Bar greatly depended upon mutual respect.
On the occasion, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said that he would write a dissenting note if the remaining 10 judges on the bench decided to pardon Awan. President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Yaseen Azad requested the bench to give some time to resolve the issue whereas Vice Chairman of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Lateef Afridi outrightly condemned Awan's conduct, saying, "I would stand by the court."
Underscoring the need for demonstrating a greater sense of tolerance Senior Advocate Atizaz Ahsan submitted that some elements were creating an environment of conflict between the two major state organs. To Justice Saqib Nisar's question 'How much tolerance could be shown,' Ashan replied, "the maximum."
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said: "I always say that people can criticise judges also but Babar Awan's utterance on media is too much." According to him even if all the judges decide to ignore the matter, he will still demand that proceeding should be initiated against the counsel. Justice Tasaddaq Jillani observed that notice issued to Awan had nothing to do with the hearing oof the presidential reference The Chief Justice concluded: "Babar Awan may file a reply to the notice on or before January 09; in lieu of that the proceedings of the Reference was also postponed till the next date of hearing."
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