Supreme Court adjourns Riaz’s contempt of court case

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has adjourned the hearing of contempt of court case against real estate tycoon Malik Riaz, giving six days to his counsel to study the case.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan resumed hearing of the contempt case against Malik Riaz.

Dr Basist, the counsel for the property tycoon and former chairman of Bahria Town, requested the court that he accepted the case on Wednesday and requires more time for preparation.

The lawyer also requested the court to allow his client to travel abroad for his treatment and provide him with sufficient security. But the apex court dismissed the plea, asking Malik Riaz to stay in Pakistan and present himself for all subsequent hearings.

Dr Basit said that his client despite ill-health didn’t miss any hearing up till now. Upon which, Justice Shakirullah Jan said that even after the requests of plaintiffs, Malik Riaz’s name was not put on Exit Control List (ECL).

At the same time, the apex court also turned down pleas for putting Riaz’s name in ECL, saying the court trusts the person who gives respect to it.

Dr Basit, the counsel for Malik Riaz, asked the bench that he should be aware of the prosecutor in the case. In reply to this, Justice Shakirullah Jan said that the appointment of prosecutor remains at state’s prudence.

The lawyer also sought record of Dr Arsalan Iftikhar’s case but the bench dismissed the request saying that there was no need of it.

The real estate tycoon through his counsel informed the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has not yet commenced investigation against the alleged corruption of Arsalan Iftikhar.

The bench adjourned the hearing till 4 of July, directing the counsel for Malik Riaz to submit his replies regarding the application two days before the hearing.

The Supreme Court took notice of the June 12 press conference during which Malik Riaz hurled serious allegations against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his son Arsalan Iftikhar.

Earlier, the court also took a suo motu notice against Dr Arsalan and Malik Riaz, following media reported that the former had received between Rs300 and Rs400 million from latter to influence judicial proceedings.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 28 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.