ISLAMABAD – Additional Registrar (Judicial) of the Supreme Court, Nazar Abbas, has filed a challenge against the contempt of court notice issued to him over a controversy regarding the scheduling of a case.
A six-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and including Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Athar Minallah, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, and Musarrat Hilali, has been constituted to hear the plea. The hearing is scheduled for January 27 (Monday).
The controversy began after the Supreme Court removed Nazar Abbas from his position as Additional Registrar (Judicial), citing his misstep in scheduling a constitutional bench case before a regular bench. A notification issued by the Additional Registrar (Administration) declared Abbas an officer on special duty (OSD).
The notification stated that his action resulted in the wastage of time and resources for both the court and litigants. It also directed the Supreme Court registrar to investigate the matter further.
Following the incident, a contempt notice was issued to Nazar Abbas for failing to properly schedule cases concerning the powers of constitutional and regular benches.
SC RESERVES VERDICT
On Thursday, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, reserved its verdict on the contempt case after hearing multiple arguments.
In his response to the show-cause notice, Nazar Abbas denied defying any judicial orders and requested the withdrawal of the notice. He explained that he had submitted a note regarding the formation of a bench, as per judicial orders, to the Practice and Procedure Committee. Advocate Hamid Khan assisted the bench by presenting arguments on the matter.
