[traithJah]

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) resumed hearing of various identical petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act 2012 Tuesday, Geo News reported.A five-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and including Justice Shakirullah Jan, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, resumed hearing 27 identical petitions challenging the Contempt of Court Act, 2012.The lawyers representing the petitioners in the case concluded their arguments on Monday while federation’s lawyer Abdul Shakoor Paracha presented his arguments today.During the hearing, Shakoor Paracha said the parliament has complete right of legislation under the Constitution and this authority could not be challenged.Paracha moreover argued that the new contempt of court law does not in any manner restricts the powers of the judiciary. He also contended that the petitions filed against the contempt law are not valid and could not be heard.In his remarks, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chudhry said democracy would continue if dictatorship was not supported. He added that the way to authoritarianism was paved when institutions exceeded their jurisdictions.The Chief Justice continued saying that the government’s claim that the new contempt law was without flaws was incorrect, adding that, all matters of public interest could be taken up in courts.Meanwhile, the attorney general sought permission to argue which was denied by the Chief Justice.Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday observed the judiciary and parliament were not against each other, saying “we take wisdom from the debates that occurred on the floor of the house”.