LHC fines woman Rs100,000 over unnecessary contempt petition against CM Maryam
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum expressed displeasure over errors in the contempt petition
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has fined a woman Rs100,000 for filing what the court described as an unnecessary contempt petition and for making an error in the case details.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum expressed displeasure over the petition and said the applicant had wasted the court’s valuable time.
She imposed the fine while hearing a petition filed by Ashba Kamran against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other officials on Wednesday.
Additional Advocate General Muhammad Naveed Sheikh and Assistant Advocate General Waqas Umar appeared before the court on behalf of the Punjab government. The petitioner, Ashba Kamran, also appeared in person.
During the hearing, Ashba Kamran questioned whether the Constitution of Pakistan or orders of the Supreme Court were binding on every citizen. She also asked whether Supreme Court orders were meant only for ordinary citizens or whether they applied to everyone.
The petitioner said paragraphs nine to 11 of a Supreme Court order had not been implemented and alleged that the court’s directions were being ignored. She also referred to the removal of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, saying he had been removed for disobeying a court order.
The chief justice reminded the petitioner that she had come before the court in a contempt case and asked her to provide the number of the petition on which her contempt application was based.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum further asked whether the petition number given in the application was correct. The petitioner could not satisfy the court regarding the error in the petition number.
The chief justice then imposed a Rs100,000 fine on Ashba Kamran for the mistake and wasting the court’s time. She said the matter would be heard after the petitioner had paid the fine.
Ashba Kamran has filed the petition against the Punjab chief minister, the chief secretary and the speaker of the Punjab Assembly.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf