BABAR AWAN contempt proceedings today

Supreme Court (SC) will resume the hearing of Senator Babar Awan contempt of court case today, anewz News reported.

The SC on January 13 granted time till February 2 to former law minister Babar Awan to engage a counsel to defend him in a contempt of court case filed against him.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed, heard a contempt of court case against Awan who appeared before the court and asked for more time to engage a counsel. He said he deemed it appropriate to appear before the court along with his counsel. He also submitted that he wanted to file his reply to the contempt notice through his lawyer.

The court granted Awan extra time and warned him to act with caution in the meantime. To a court query, Awan said he had some responsibilities to shoulder as a parliamentarian and would not go anywhere.

On January 4, the court had issued contempt of court notices to Awan and four other Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders, including two sitting ministers, for holding a 'contemptuous' press conference at the Press Information Department. The leaders had categorically rejected the Supreme Court's December 1, 2011 decision to form a judicial commission to probe the memo case.

Similarly, on January 5, the court abruptly put off the hearing of the presidential reference to revisit the death sentence awarded to former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and issued another show cause notice to Babar Awan asking him to explain and file a reply till Jan 9 about why his license to practice law at the Supreme Court should not be cancelled for ridiculing the apex court time and again.

For addressing the controversial press conference, the court had also issued contempt notices to Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan and Adviser to Prime Minister Farooq Awan.