KARACHI: After considerable debate, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has declared the contempt of court law unconstitutional, the media reported on Friday.
Herewith, only the 2003 law will be enforced, the media reported further.
The text of the contempt of court law is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court said.
Reading out the verdict Chief Jusrice Igtikhar Muhammad Chuadhry said the law is in conflict with Article 63(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that Section 6, 8 and 11 are against the independence of the judiciary, and added, they are also unconstitutional.
Section 3 of Article 4 and 9 is also unconstitutional, the CJ said.
The high courts and Supreme Court have the right to punish anyone under the contempt of court law, said the CJ.
The chief justice said that petitions against the contempt of court law are also under consideration, and added that the question of basic rights has also come up during the review.
A five-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Jawad S. Khawaja and Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani heard 27 petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act 2012.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2012
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