LAHORE  - The Lahore High Court Friday sentenced four persons, including a former PML-N MNA, to one-month jail along with fine of Rs100,000 for taking out an anti-judiciary rally in Kasur.

The convicts – ex-MNA Sheikh Waseem Akhtar, former vice-chairman of a union council Ahmad Latif, Jamil Khan and Nasir Khan – were arrested by police as they came out of the courtroom.

The full bench, led by Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, however exonerated former Nawaz League MPA Naeem Safdar and former municipal chairman Ayaz Khan of the contempt charges.

On his way to jail in police custody, Waseem Akhtar told the reporters that he would challenge his conviction. He said his son would contest upcoming general election as his conviction has automatically rendered him disqualified for five years.

During the hearing, all the convicts denied the charges and tendered unconditional apology before the LHC bench but it failed to save them.

A video went viral on the social media in April showing the convicts taking out a rally in Kasur and using derogatory remarks against the judges of the superior courts.

The police booked 80 persons including MNA Wasim and MPA Naeem in the case under Section 166, 506, 341, 228, 109, 147 and 149 of Pakistan Penal Code and inserted Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act.

Kasur Bar Association President Mian Naseem and others filed the petition submitting that the protest in  was a planned conspiracy against the institution of judiciary.

He alleged that the rally was led by the PML-N lawmakers while some office bearers of different union councils belonging to Nawaz League also accompanied them.

The bar leader said that by doing so the protestors committed contempt of court and therefore they must be punished. He prayed to the court to declare the parliamentarians disqualified and proceed against them in accordance with the law.

The same LHC bench also took up the matter of contemptuous speech by former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal against Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

Ahsan submitted a written reply before the bench through his counsel Azam Nazir Tarar but the bench rejected it. The court found that the ex-minister had not used the word “apology” in his reply, and observed that “he [Ahsan] was just tendering verbal apology”.

On it, Azam Nazir Tarar made a request to the bench for more time to make necessary changes in the written reply which the court accepted and adjourned further hearing until July 2.

Ex-MNA among four jailed in Kasur contempt case