SC orders IHC to expunge its remarks against PPP’s Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

Accepting the appeal filed by former National Assembly (NA) speaker and senior PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to expunge the observation it had made against him in one of its decisions, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heard the appeal.

In its order, the apex court said that judges should be careful while making remarks against somebody in his absence. “And if it is really necessary, judges should first issue a notice to that person,” the court said.

The court expressed the hope that from now on judges would exercise caution while making observations.  

It further said that despite the fact that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had said that nothing could be proved against the appellant in its inquiry, a single bench of the IHC, in 2012, had made some pungent remarks against him. “Judges must be careful while making such observations at the stage of an inquiry,” the SC said.  

Former IHC judge Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, during the hearing of a road contract case, had called Ashraf ‘corrupt’ and ‘dishonest’.

The high court had ordered the NAB to hold an inquiry into the graft case against the former NA speaker.  

Reporter: Amanat Gishkori