Law: Contempt of Court Act, 1976

Section: 4

Contempt of Court Act (LXIV of 1976) S. 4, proviso Revision of sentence-High Court held, empowered to remit sentence even after conviction if satisfied as to contemner having purged himself of contempt of Court.---[Sentence]. Date of hearing: 25th March, 1980.                                                                                                                     JUDGMENT SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.-This is an application for remission of the sentence which was imposed upon the petitioner by this Court upon his conviction on a charge of contempt of Court. 2. In February, 1974 the petitioner was working as a Magistrate in Lahore. At that time the district administration was making arrangements for the holding of Summit Conference in Lahore. In connection with these arrangements the petitioner wanted to demolish the shop of one Iftikhar Ali with the object of widening the passage to Data Darbar. Iftikhar Ali filed a civil suit and obtained a temporary injunction to save his shop from demolition. With the full knowledge of the existence of the said temporary injunction the petitioner demolished the shop. On the motion of Iftikhar Ali a Division Bench of this Court convicted him for contempt and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment till the rising of the Court and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000 or, in default thereof, to undergo further simple imprisonment for a period of one month. He went in appeal before the Supreme Court to challenge his conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction but on the question of sentence it observed: "Finally, Mr. Shaukat Ali submitted that if the fine imposed on the appellant was not set aside, he could be dismissed from service. As the appellant had committed contempt, he had made himself liable to punishment for contempt and the consequences of that punish ment would be no ground whatsoever for allowing the appeal and the…