Gilani guilty of contempt, verdict is out

Special Reporter

Islamabad, April 26: Premier Gilani has been found guilty of contempt of court under section 5 of the contempt of court ordinance.

Mulk said the conviction was “likely to entail serious consequences” for Gilani, and this was taken in mitigation with regards to his sentence.

PM Gilani stood for 30 seconds after the verdict was read at Supreme Court building this morning.

At about 09:35 am Justice Nasirul Mulk, head of the seven member bench, of the Supreme Court read the verdict saying, “or reasons to be recorded later, the prime minister is found guilty of contempt for wilfully flouting the direction of the Supreme Court.”

PPP has decided to file a review petition, Firdous Ashiq Awan told journalists after the sentencing was over. She said that future course of action will be decided at a meeting of the cabinet to be held later today.

The sentencing was witnesses members of the parliament, members of provincial assemblies, political leaders, lawyers and journalists.

At the background of this judico-political battle is a corruption case in Switzerland in which President Zardari is allegedly involved. The SC had asked the government to write a letter to the Swiss courts to start proceedings against the President, an order not followed by Gilani. The PPP government maintains that cases against the President cannot be started while he is in office.

——————- Text of the Supreme Court Order ——————-

“For the reasons to be recorded later, the accused Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan/Chief Executive of the federation, is found guilty of and convicted for contempt of court, under Article 204 (2) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, read with Section 3 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance (Ordinance 5 of 2003) for wilful flouting, disregard and disobedience of this court’s direction contained in paragraph number 178 of the judgment delivered in the case of Dr Mubashir Hasan versus the Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2010 SC 265). After our satisfaction that the contempt committed by him is substantially detrimental to the administration of justice and tends to bring this court and the judiciary of this country into ridicule.

2. As regards the sentence to be passed against the convict, we note that the findings and the conviction for contempt of court recorded above are likely to entail some serious consequences in terms of Article 63 (1) (g) of the Constitution which may be treated as mitigating factors towards the sentence to be passed against him. He is, therefore, punished under Article 5 of the contempt of court ordinance (ordinance 5 of 2003) with imprisonment till the rising of the court today.”