The Senate on Monday passed a bill proposing six months’ imprisonment for contempt of Parliament or any of its committees, paving the way for it to be signed into law by the president as the National Assembly passed it two months earlier.
The ‘Contempt of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) Bill’ was moved by four senators from Balochistan and one from Punjab, with State Minister for Law Shahadat Awan informing the chair that as it had already been passed unanimously by the Lower House, it should be voted upon without being sent to the standing committee concerned.
“A person is guilty of contempt under this act, if he is found to have willfully breached the privilege of a member, a House or a committee; violated any law guarantying the immunities or privileges of the members; failed or refused to obey any order or direction of a House or a committee; refused to give evidence or recorded false statement before a committee; attempted or influenced a witness either by intimidation, threat or use of force to prevent him from providing evidence, producing documents or appearing before the committee; and failed to provide any documents or submitted tempered documents before a House or a committee,” states the bill.
Under the proposed law, the NA speaker would form a parliamentary contempt committee comprising three MNAs and two senators. Of these, the leaders of the House and Opposition would nominate two members each from the NA and Senate, while the speaker would nominate one MNA. The committee would be empowered to award punishments for alleged contempt through a majority decision. “Whoever commits contempt under this Act, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to Rs. 1 million or with both,” states the law, adding the Contempt Committee would have the same powers as civil courts in enforcing the attendance of any person and compelling the production of documents.
The law states that all proceedings before the Contempt Committee shall be quasi-judicial and any document produced and evidence recorded by it shall not be admissible as evidence in any court. It further states that any decision of a house shall be executed and enforced by the relevant district magistrate within whose territorial jurisdiction an accused is residing under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
The ‘Contempt of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) Bill’ allows for appeals against decisions to be filed within 30 days before the NA speaker or the Senate chairman. It also allows for the privilege committee of either house to prepare a report, within 60 days, with recommendations on any breach of privilege or contempt of parliament. The report would then be placed in the respective house for its decision to refer the matter to the contempt committee.
The bill has been passed by both houses of Parliament amidst ongoing tensions between the judiciary and the executive, with the former being accused by the latter of overstepping its mandate by seeking to restrict implementation of laws.
Additional proceedings
The Senate also passed a resolution, moved by Dr. Sania Nishtar, recognizing the importance of commemorating World Population Day on July 11 every year. The resolution calls for acknowledging that the theme for World Population Day 2023 “unleashing the power of gender equality: uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities,” is particularly relevant to Pakistan and other developing countries where there is an urgent need to prioritize the rights, well-being and empowerment of women and girls.
Noting Pakistan’s population was projected to hit 403 million by 2050, it said this would contribute to challenges such as poverty and unemployment, food and water scarcity, housing shortages, healthcare access and human capital development, depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation. It called on the government to engage in multi-sectoral collaboration, involving all governmental agencies including provincial governments, civil society organizations and relevant stakeholders to work collectively towards achieving sustainable population growth and gender equality.
The Upper House also saw conflict between the PPP and JI, as the parties’ respective senators clashed over the mayoral elections in Karachi, which the JI has accused the Sindh ruling party of rigging.