Irfan Nawaz Memon, the deputy commissioner of Islamabad, was the subject of non-bailable arrest warrants issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday due to his repeated failure to appear in court in a contempt matter.
A show-cause notice was also sent to the DC by Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC.
In a case involving the September arrests of PTI leaders Sheharyar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar, the court had previously found DC Memon, Senior Superintendent of Police Malik Jameel Zafar, Superintendent of Police Farooq Buttar, and Margalla Police Station House Officer Nasir Manzoor in contempt.
In relation to the incident on May 9, the PTI leaders were detained by the police; Afridi was initially detained on May 16 while Gulzar was arrested on August 9. On August 16, they were subsequently made public after the IHC declared the DC and SSP’s responses to be “unsatisfactory.”
It had also denied Memon and others’ unqualified apology for disobeying the court’s directives and dismissed the DC’s petition against his indictment.
It was revealed on Monday that DC Memon had been granted permission to travel overseas. According to representatives of the capital administration, the DC, who served as the district returning officer for the capital throughout the general elections on February 8, had requested permission to travel outside.
Memon acknowledged that he was off until March 5 but would not give further information. The chief commissioner of Islamabad granted the request for more than two weeks of leave.
Justice Sattar chaired the contempt case hearing today. DC Memon did not show up in court, though.
The judicial order, a duplicate of which can be found on Dawn.com, states that Memon’s attorney told the judge that the DC wasn’t there because he departed for Khairpur on Thursday, February 22, in preparation for his journey to Saudi Arabia.
It stated that Memon was currently facing charges in the contempt case, which was being reviewed on a daily basis, and that although he had already received a show-cause in August, the case’s proceedings were being postponed to allow for the respondents’ convenience and the counsels’.
“During an earlier hearing, his attorney had told the court that the respondent wanted to go forward with Umrah on February 22 and that the proceedings would ideally be over by then. Respondent No. 1 [Memon] requested on February 19 to be excused from making a physical appearance at the hearing.
“Since the matter was scheduled for final arguments today, this court declined to provide exemption from personal appearance,” the IHC stated.
“The matter was set for final arguments, and the hearing time was set at 2:30 pm on the learned counsels’ request for the parties to attend at their convenience,” the order said. “However, the DC might elect to defy the decision of this tribunal and opt for not be present before the court today?” the order said, “despite the refusal of a leave of absence from intimate appearance.”
Additionally, it mandated the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants for the DC’s production on Wednesday before the IHC at 9 a.m.
It further said that, in the event that DC Memon was discovered at an airport, seaport, or border crossing, the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency or the chief of police in Islamabad, or any one of the provincial or territorial police chiefs under whose control Memon was found, shall execute the arrest warrants.
Additionally, the court mandated that the DC’s name be added to the Exit Control List by the Interior Ministry and the Director General of Passports.
According to the order, the DC was required to appear in court because he already had been charged and given a show-cause notice.
“Today, the petitioner appeared in court… and he was informed in his appearance that his plea to be excused from appearing before the judge at today’s hearing is not going to be granted.
“Primary contumacious contempt of the mandate of this court to be present in person today is his refusal to comply with the order of this tribunal and neglect the hearing right now without any reasonable explanation. It appears that his goal is to frustrate the conclusion of the proceedings and delay the adjudication of the matter,” the order stated.
The court ordered that the DC be given another show-cause notice under Sections 3, 5, and 17 of the Defiance of Court Ordinance, 2003, read in conjunction with Article 204 of the Constitution, explaining why he should not be penalized for such “defiance and obstruction of justice.”
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
