ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Friday, turned down the Intelligence Bureau’s request to withdraw its application seeking the recusal of Justice Babar Sattar from the audio leaks case.

A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Babar Sattar conducted the hearing of the IB’s plea to withdraw its application seeking his recusal.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on April 27 had filed applications for the recusal of Justice Sattar and fixing the matter before another bench.

During the hearing, the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) informed the court that the IB wanted to withdraw its plea objecting to the formation of the bench.

However, Justice Sattar said the IB’s petition was already dismissed during the last hearing. He added that when the written order is issued then you will receive it.

He further said that the IB DG has been issued a notice in the order, saying that why not initiate contempt proceedings against him? The judge noted that it had also been asked in the order who had approved filing the objection plea. He told the AAG that the IB’s response could be submitted to the court once the written verdict had been issued.

Justice Sattar, on April 29, dismissed the applications of the PEMRA, the FIA, and the PTA seeking his recusal from hearing the audio leaks case. Besides dismissing the pleas, the IHC bench also imposed a Rs500,000 fine on each of them. He also hinted at initiating contempt proceedings against the PEMRA, the FIA, and the PTA.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024