Shahbaz Shah Legal Journal

Supreme Court of Pakistan

Hira Rauf v. Rear Admiral (Retd.) Mushtaq Ahmed and others

Published on this website · Updated

Criminal Appeal No. 10-K of 2024 (against Sindh High Court order dated 19 November 2024 in H.C.A. No. 484 of 2024)

Citation: Approved for reporting; reported citation not yet assigned

Pakistan | Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 | Article 204Pakistan | Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 | Sections 3 and 4Pakistan | Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 | Section 17(3)

Case summary

The judgment in brief

In Hira Rauf, the Supreme Court held that Section 17(3) requires a preliminary hearing before cognizance or framing a contempt charge.

Question of law

Whether a court may take cognizance of contempt or fix a date for framing charge under Section 17(3) without first giving the alleged contemner an opportunity of preliminary hearing and forming a prima facie satisfaction that the interest of justice requires further proceedings.

Court holding

What the Court decided

No. Section 17(3) makes the preliminary hearing and the court's prima facie satisfaction conditions that precede cognizance or the fixing of a charge. The Single Judge moved directly to the charge stage, and the Division Bench overlooked that procedural lapse.

Result

Outcome and directions

The appeal was allowed. The Single Judge's order dated 30 October 2024 and the Division Bench's order dated 19 November 2024 were set aside to the extent of the contempt proceedings. The contempt application remains pending and may proceed only after a preliminary hearing and a decision on whether a prima facie contempt case exists.

Practical effect

What the decision means in practice

The appeal was allowed. The Single Judge's order dated 30 October 2024 and the Division Bench's order dated 19 November 2024 were set aside to the extent of the contempt proceedings. The contempt application remains pending and may proceed only after a preliminary hearing and a decision on whether a prima facie contempt case exists.

This summary states the immediate effect recorded in the decision. The original judgment and the facts of the particular case remain controlling.

New judgment alerts

Follow this court or legal topic

Receive new judgments and analysis about Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law by email.

Primary source

Original judgment and official source

This HTML summary does not replace the court record. Use the linked original judgment PDF or official court source to verify the exact text and directions.

View Judgment PDFDownload Judgment PDF

Precedent record

Authority and later treatment

Publication
Approved for reporting; reported citation should be checked when assigned
Primary source
Primary judgment PDF held in the journal library
Later treatment
No later judicial treatment has yet been editorially verified for this record

Treatment labels are added only after the later judgment has been checked; absence of a label is not a statement that no later authority exists.

Research tools

Use this judgment in your research

Compare judgments
Copy a link to a specific part

Judgment text is provided for legal research and general information. Verify the official court record before relying on it in proceedings.