MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday suspended a District and Sessions Judge Muzaffarabad from service in a contempt of court case, ordering a formal inquiry.
Hearing a contempt plea, a bench comprising Chief Justice Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan and Senior Judge Justice Raza Ali Khan found prima facie evidence of a violation of its stay order.
Advocate Saqib Abbasi represented the petitioner during the proceedings.
The case relates to the auction of a vehicle belonging to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, which was under litigation in the District Court Bagh. The Supreme Court had previously issued a stay order in the matter.
However, despite the stay, District Judge Bagh (at the time) auctioned the vehicle, reportedly valued at between Rs6 million and Rs7 million, for approximately Rs8 Lakh.
Following the auction, a contempt petition was filed before the Supreme Court, on which the court sought an explanatory (paragraph-wise) comment from the concerned District and Sessions Judge.
In his response, the judge maintained that the order had been issued in accordance with a decision made by his predecessor.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court observed that the judge was bound to give precedence to the stay order issued by the apex court and that reliance on a predecessor’s decision could not override the authority of the Supreme Court’s directives.
The bench remarked that proceeding with the auction despite the stay order amounted to a prima facie violation of court orders.
Subsequently, the court ordered the suspension of the District and Sessions Judge and directed the Chief Justice of the High Court of AJK to appoint a High Court judge to conduct a detailed inquiry into the matter.
The Supreme Court also instructed the District and Sessions Judge Bagh to immediately recover the auctioned vehicle and submit a compliance report before the court.
