ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed for hearing on March 29 an intra-court appeal of former interior minister Rehman Malik before a larger bench against its order of March 18 in a contempt case against him for replacing an investigating team probing the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case in 2009.
The three-judge bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed was told by Latif Khosa, his client, Rehman Malik, had filed an intra-court appeal against the court’s March 18 ruling.
The chief justice questioned whether he had obtained a stay order against the order. As no stay had been granted; therefore they (the justices) would frame contempt charges against the former minister, he went on to say. Khosa replied they did file an application for the stay order. The chief justice then again asked the lawyer whether he had requested the court for fixing the intra-court appeal for hearing. Khosa replied the advocate on record was required to file it, adding that he had filed the appeal within the stipulated timeframe ie March 26, at 03:00 pm. Justice Chaudhry recalled that the case had been pending before the court since 2009. Nevertheless Khosa contended the court had ordered to frame charges against Rehman Malik for replacing former FIA DG Tariq Khosa, adding that Khosa was transferred in grade-22 and the prime minister was the competent authority. Justice Chaudhry told him that the court was framing charges against Malik for his intervention in the court proceedings.
The court instructed that the intra-court appeal of Malik would be heard by a five-member larger bench on March 29. The hearing was adjourned for the next week.
On the last hearing, Rehman Malik tendered an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court in the contempt case for replacing the investigation team that had been probing the PSM corruption case.
The apex court had taken serious notice of an attempt made by Rehman Malik on December 17, 2009, of transferring the then Federal Investigation Agency director general Tariq Khosa before completion of the tenure of the assignment given by the court for recovering the embezzled money of the Pakistan Steel Mills.