LAHORE A division bench of Lahore High Court Thursday issued contempt notices to Minister of Industries & Production Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo and other respondents for not complying with an earlier order of LHC of fixing sugar price at Rs.40 per kg. The other respondents who were issued notices included Federal Secretary commerce Salman Siddique, Chief Secretary Punjab Javed Mehmood, Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Sikandar Hayat Khan and its Punjab chapter President Javed Kiyani. The bench headed by Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif directed the respondents to submit their replies as to why they failed in getting the LHCs order implemented. The bench also asked them to come up with a cogent reason as to why they should not be proceeded under contempt of court charges. Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry was the other member on the division bench which issued notices for October 08. The bench issued notices on a contempt petition filed by a citizen Abdul Quddus Mughal through his counsel Shafqat Mehmood Chohan. The counsel submitted that the respondents instead of implementing the courts orders started uttering derogatory remarks which amounted to contempt of court. He mentioned that when the Chief Justice LHC had announced the order, Chief Secretary Punjab was present in the courtroom and he had given assurance to comply with the order. But the CS along with other respondents failed in getting the LHCs order implemented and instead joined hand with the sugar mills lobby. Counsel pointed out that the Minister Manzoor Wattoo had also been uttering derogatory remarks about courts order in different meetings and media briefings. The sugar mills association also disregarded the LHCs order and challenged it before Supreme Court, he added. He prayed to the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents for not complying with the courts orders of fixing sugar price at Rs.40 per kg.