Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has fined a woman Rs100,000 for filing what the court called an unnecessary contempt petition and for providing an incorrect petition number.
According to 24NewsHD TV, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum expressed displeasure during the hearing and said the petitioner had wasted the court’s valuable time.
The judge imposed the fine while hearing a petition filed by Ashba Kamran against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other government officials on Wednesday.
Additional Advocate General Muhammad Naveed Sheikh and Assistant Advocate General Waqas Umar represented the Punjab government in court. Kamran also appeared before the court herself.
During the hearing, Kamran asked whether the Constitution and Supreme Court orders applied equally to all citizens. She questioned whether court orders were binding only on ordinary people or on everyone.
She claimed that authorities had not implemented paragraphs nine to 11 of a Supreme Court order and alleged that officials were ignoring the court’s directions.
Kamran also cited the case of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, saying he had lost his office after failing to comply with a court order.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum reminded Kamran that she had filed a contempt petition and asked her to provide the number of the main petition linked to her application.
The petitioner gave a petition number, but the chief justice found that the number was incorrect. Kamran could not explain the mistake to the court.
The chief justice subsequently imposed a Rs100,000 fine on Kamran, saying the error had wasted the court’s time. She directed that the case would proceed after the petitioner paid the fine.
Kamran has filed the petition against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the Punjab Chief Secretary and the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly.
