A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court closed the contempt of court proceedings against Registrar Sardar Tahir Saber and Deputy Registrar Security Muhammad Owaisul Hassan on Monday.

The larger bench approved the appeals filed by both officers and decided to terminate the proceedings.

In its ruling, the bench stated that contempt of court proceedings cannot be initiated if no judicial or administrative order exists.

The Pakistan Bar Council and the Islamabad High Court Bar Association had called for a strike on May 9, 2024, which the judge noted created obstacles for lawyers in accessing justice. The case record indicated that Justice Babar Sattar had written a letter stating that litigants were prevented from reaching the court, leading to the matter being presented first to the senior presiding judge and subsequently to the administration committee.

The court noted that the senior presiding judge had stated in an inquiry report on May 14 that lawyers were not prevented from accessing the court. Moreover, the IHC’s Administration Committee reported on May 20 that there was no evidence of lawyers “being forcibly obstructed.”

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Justice Sattar heard a request on May 21 to reinstate a petition that had been dismissed for non-prosecution, during which the registrar was asked to provide CCTV footage. But the registrar’s response was deemed “unsatisfactory,” leading to the initiation of contempt of court proceedings.

The court’s ruling also highlighted that a show-cause notice was issued to the deputy registrar of security, despite him being on leave on the day of the incident, casting “doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings.”

The larger bench ultimately decided to terminate the contempt of court proceedings against both officers, effectively dissolving the matter.