Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas has ordered an inquiry into the complaint by pro-government lawyers that they were roughed up, abused and humiliated by their fellow lawyers protesting against the removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry after they had emerged from the proceedings in the case in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Tuesday.

Khalida Ranjha, a senior lawyer on the government penal pleading for impeachment of Justice Chaudhry, said he felt disguested and humiliated and that he wanted to withdraw from the government panel.

Lead counsel on the panel, Sen. Wasim Sajjad, however, persuaded Ranjha to take back his threat and stay on the panel. Wasim himself said he had been hounded and insulted in recent days for accepting the assignment of leading government panel that will pursue the reference.

The SJC reserved its ruling on Justice Chaudhry’s plea for an open court on Tuesday. His lead counsel Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan submitted his arguments which were rebutted by Wasim Sajjad during nearly three hours’ proceedings after which the council adjourned till April 13.

The council will take up on April 13 the objections raised by the Justice over the presence of two judges on the Bench whom he accused of bias against him. He is particularly wary of Chief Justice Lahore High Court Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain. The two are not on speaking terms and Justice Hussain is dubbed as government favourite. He has declined to move upward as judge of the Supreme Court and instead stuck to the more coveted job of Chief Justice. The government wants him to be there at least till elections.

The council is headed by Justice Rana Bhagwandas and includes two judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, and Chief Justice Lahore High Court Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry and Chief Justice High Court of Sindh Sabihuddin Ahmed as members.

Hamid Khan, a member of the defence team, told the media that the defence team argued that respondent Chief Justice himself wanted open proceedings of his trial. However, counsel of the Referring Authority, led by Khalid Ranjha and Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan, opposed the demand for an open trial, while referring to the judicial history. They contended that all the references in the past were heard in-camera. They also cited the cases against Justice Shaikh Shaukat and Justice Ikhlaq Ahmed.

London, April 4
Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai came in for praise for her role in the British film “Provoked”.

It is based on the life of NRI Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who set her husband afire 11 years ago after suffering at his hand for a decade.

“I cried seeing the film as I re-lived every moment of it. I am impressed with Aishwarya’s acting of the role of Kiranjit and I am satisfied with the film,” said 51-year-old Kiranjit, while sharing the platform with Aishwarya Rai, the director of the film Jag Mundhra and actress Nandita Das at the Court House Kempenski here last night.

Kiranjit was presented with a cheque for 5,000 pounds and promise of a 1 per cent of the box office returns for her and the South Hall Black Sisters who had campaigned her cause.

Kiranjit made legal history 15 years ago when she was acquitted of murdering her husband.

She hoped that the film would save many other women in Asian community from such violence.

“Provoked” stars former Miss World Aishwarya Rai as Kiranjit Ahluwalia, alongside the British actors Miranda Richardson, who plays a prison cellmate, and Robbie Coltrane, who plays the barrister who helped Kiranjit with her landmark appeal.— PTI

Indian fashion designer Anand Jon, who is facing multiple charges of sexual assault, was released from a Los Angeles County jail on Monday.

Jon, 33, had been held on a $1.3 million bail. His lawyer, Ronald Richards, said an immigration court “discharged the immigration detainer that was improperly placed upon” the designer.

US immigration officials had placed Jon, who is reportedly in the final stages of his Green Card application process, on a detainer, in which the US Citizenship and Immigration Service seek custody of someone in the custody of another law-enforcement agency.

Richards retained the services of Jaehoh Suh to represent Jon in connection with the immigration detainer.

“Suh successfully convinced the government to terminate all immigration proceedings,” Richards said.

Jon was arrested at his Beverly Hills, California, apartment on March 6 and charged with sexually assaulting five women and two girls, aged 15 and 17.

The 15 felony and five misdemeanour counts include charges ranging from rape and sexual battery to committing a lewd act on a child. The charges carry a potential life sentence.

Richards admitted his client knows the alleged assault victims but denied any “illegal sex” took place between them. The investigation was prompted by a complaint on March 5 from a girl, who told detectives that Jon assaulted her on March 4.