ISLAMABAD: The district magistrate on Monday challenged the IHC single member bench order, suspending not only the detention order of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi but also initiating the contempt proceeding against the magistrate and police officials.

District Magistrate Irfan Nawaz Memon filed the Intra Court Appeal (ICA) against the order of Justice Babar Sattar.

The ICA will be heard by a two-member division bench.

In the appeal the district magistrate stated that the single bench did not apply judicial mind while passing the order.

It said that the decision would discourage the civil servant to take decision to maintain the public order.

It requested the court to set aside the decision of the single member bench.

The ICA stated that in the decision Justice Sattar went beyond his jurisdiction as he ordered that Afridi “shall not be arrested or removed from the territorial jurisdiction of this court by any state authority in relation to any other case.”

“The impugned order is tantamount to travelling beyond the realm of administrative matters that is an exclusive domain of the executive,” said the appeal.

It said that the single bench virtually made the Maintenance of Public Order redundant and the order was passed while ignoring the “settled principles of criminal justice system and administration of justice.”

He requested the division bench to set aside the said order.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2023