During the last hearing in the contempt case initiated against Imran, he had been summoned by the court to show up in person at the next hearing. A five-member bench, comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Babar Sattar, heard the case today.
A special security plan was put into action at the IHC today for the hearing at which the former prime minister was to show up in person. “Only individuals with permission from the IHC will be allowed on the court’s premises and alternative routes have been arranged for residents of the area,” the capital police said on Tuesday.
When Khan's counsel Hamid Khan came forward and took the stand, IHC CJ Minallah reminded him that in addition to being Khan's lawyer, he was also there to assist the court. "I did not expect this from you," he said, referring to the response submitted by Hamid Khan on behalf of his client.
At the previous hearing when the court had served Imran a show-cause notice, Khan had refrained from apologizing for his remarks, but instead offered to withdraw his remarks if they were 'deemed inappropriate', adding, "The response that was submitted was not of the stature of a political leader like Khan."
He said that he had hoped that Imran would admit his mistakes and say that he has trust in the courts, but noted that, "the time that has passed by cannot come back, the words uttered through one's tongue cannot be taken back".
He said that Khan is a popular political leader with many followers, and therefore he should think before he speaks, adding, "In the last 70 years, a common man has not been able to make it to the high courts and the Supreme Court."
Maintaining that the matter of contempt of court was a very serious one, Minallah said, "This matter is very serious, the contempt of court proceedings could have ended today, but they aren't due to the response that was submitted."
Telling Khan to submit his response again within a week or else the case would proceed, the CJ adjourned the hearing.
Previously on August 20 while speaking at a rally in Islamabad, the PTI chief had threatened to take action against the judge and Islamabad police’s inspector general (IG) and deputy inspector general (DIG).
“We will not spare the IG and DIG […] Judge Zeba Chaudhry should also prepare herself as a case will be registered against her,” he had said.
Subsequently, the PTI chief was named in a terrorism case at Margalla police station on the complaint of Magistrate Ali Javed for threatening the woman judge.