IHC forms larger benches on social media campaign against two judges

• IHC constitutes benches to initiate contempt proceedings.
• IHC CJ Farooq-led bench will take up Justice Kayani’s letter. 
• Development comes after judges wrote letter to IHC CJ.
  

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday formed two separate larger benches to initiate contempt proceedings on the smear social media campaign against the two senior judges — Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani. 

A larger bench led by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir will hear the matter of the social media campaign against Justice Kayani.

Another bench comprising Justice Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan will take the contempt of court case on social media drive against Justice Sattar.

The development came after the senior high court judges wrote letter to IHC CJ Farooq seeking contempt of proceedings against those running social media campaigns against them.

Earlier, The News quoting sources reported that the high court had decided to convert the letter into a contempt of court case after assigning it a diary number. 

A social media campaign was launched against Justice Sattar claiming that the high court judge holds American citizenship. However, the IHC in a press release on April 28 refuted the claims.

The high court said that Justice Sattar does not hold any other citizenship except for Pakistan. It added that a “defamatory and baseless” campaign was being run against Justice Sattar on social media.

“Justice Babar Sattar’s wife and children are citizens of Pakistan and the US. They were living in the US till 2021, but returned to Pakistan after Justice Babar Sattar was appointed as a judge of the IHC and now live in Islamabad.”

The IHC, in its press release, had said that Justice Sattar’s confidential information is being posted and reposted online. It further said that the judge’s wife and children’s travel documents were also uploaded online.