ISLAMABAD, Oct 13 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has initiated contempt of court proceedings against Capital Development Authority (CDA) Member Estate Zaman Wattoo for failing to appear before the court, reportedly citing illness, and directed him to submit a reply within seven days.
Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar rejected Wattoo’s request for an unconditional apology during the hearing of the contempt case.
Wattoo appeared before the court alongside his counsel, CDA lawyer Nazir Jawad.
The chief justice observed that the contempt proceedings would be dealt with first, while the main petition would be heard later. He also directed the prosecutor to appear fully prepared at the next hearing.
Referring to the previous hearing, the chief justice said the court had recorded that Wattoo had appeared before another court but had failed to appear before his court.
The lawyer argued that Wattoo had not claimed that he was ill. He explained that the CDA official had appeared before the other court because he expected to be free sooner.
The chief justice questioned whether the court’s previous order was incorrect and expressed displeasure over what he described as a failure to show due respect to the court, despite Wattoo having completed 60 years of service.
Counsel for the petitioner, Hasnain Theem, told the court that Wattoo had accompanied the CDA chairman with his protocol team when he was summoned by the court. He alleged that Wattoo had cited illness before the IHC but had appeared elsewhere to attend to the chairman.
CDA counsel sought an unconditional apology on behalf of Wattoo.
The court directed the CDA member to submit his reply in the contempt proceedings and adjourned the hearing for one week.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
