News
Friday, July 13, 2012
President signs contempt bill
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, on Thursday, accorded assent to the Contempt of Court Bill 2012, making it into a law. The law would exempt top government figures like the prime minister, governors, chief ministers, federal ministers and state ministers from contempt proceedings. The president signed the bill, already passed by the National Assembly on July 9 and by the Senate on July 11. The law states, “An accused person may also at any stage submit an apology and the court, if satisfied, may discharge him or remit his sentence.” The new law overrides the Contempt of Court Act 1976 and repeals the contempt of court ordinances of 2003 and 2004. The bill received strong protest by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and is being challenged in the apex court by a few petitioners, who term it a mala fide action on the part of the government against the judiciary. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk