ISLAMABAD: The Senate, on Private Members’ Day, passed the ‘Contempt of Majlis Shura (Parliament) Bill 2023’, which aims to criminalize persons who insult Parliament or its committees as well as those who violate the privilege of any lawmaker.
During the Senate session, the bill was introduced to the floor as part of the supplementary agenda and later passed by voice vote. Interestingly, when the chair tabled the bill for passage, there was no objection from the opposition benches.
The National Assembly has already passed the bill.
According to the provisions of the draft law, offenders can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to Rs 10 lakh or both, once approved by the President and formally becomes an Act of Parliament.
Four senators from Balochistan and one from Punjab, Kauda Babar, Naseebullah Bazai, Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, Prince Ahmad Umar Ahmadzai and Rana Mahmoodul Hasan raised objections as the House passed it without sending it to the relevant standing committee for consideration, deliberation and report.
People’s Party Minister of State for Law Senator Shahadat Awan said that the National Assembly has already approved the bill unanimously and it should be submitted for a vote without sending it to the Standing Committee, which was agreed to by Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani.
It is significant that Parliament has passed the draft law at a time when there is intense tension between the executive and the judiciary over the powers and composition of benches in the Supreme Court.
Under the draft law, the Parliamentary Contempt Committee constituted by the Speaker National Assembly will have five members, out of which three will be from the National Assembly and two from the Senate, while the Secretary of the National Assembly will act as the Secretary of the Contempt of Court Committee.
The proposed law empowers the speaker to constitute a contempt of court committee within 30 days of the law coming into effect. Two members each from the National Assembly and the Senate will nominate the Leader of the Opposition and one member of the National Assembly as Speaker.
The committee has the power to impose punishments by majority decision. According to the bill, whoever commits contempt under this act will be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine of Rs.1 million or with both.
“The Contempt Committee shall have powers under the Code of Civil Procedure in a civil court to enforce the attendance of any person and to compel the production of documents,” the bill reads.
Furthermore, all proceedings before the Committee shall be quasi-judicial, and any documents and evidence produced by the Committee shall not be admissible as evidence in any court.
Section 10 of the Bill provides that any decision of the House shall be executed by the District Magistrate in whose territorial jurisdiction the accused is temporarily residing under the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
The Privileges Committee of either House shall prepare its report with recommendations on the matter of breach of privilege or contempt of Parliament within 60 days and its report shall be placed in the House concerned for referral of the matter to the Contempt Committee.
The chair deferred the bill moved by PTI Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar regarding shopkeepers. The bill provides for the protection of the livelihood of street vendors.
Unleashing power of gender equality
The House adopted a resolution, moved by Dr. Sania, recognizing the importance of celebrating World Population Day on July 11 every year, as designated by the United Nations to highlight the importance of population issues.
Recognizing that the theme of World Population Day 2023 “Unleashing the Power of Gender Equality: Elevating the Voice of Women and Girls to Unlock the Unlimited Possibilities of Our World” is particularly relevant for Pakistan and other developing countries where there is an urgent need to prioritize women’s rights and empowerment, the resolution said.
The resolution expressed concern that as the fifth most populous country in the world, Pakistan’s population is expected to reach 403 million by 2050, which will pose challenges such as poverty and unemployment, food scarcity and water crisis, housing shortages, access to health care and human capital development, natural resource depletion and environmental degradation.
The resolution urged the government to engage in multi-sectoral collaboration, in which all government agencies, including provincial governments, civil society organizations and relevant stakeholders work collectively to achieve sustainable population growth and gender equality. The House will now resume today (Tuesday) at 10:30 am.
