ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday issued a contempt of court notice to the Adiala jail superintendent for allegedly failing to facilitate the signing and transmission of powers of attorney (vakalatnamas) required to file bail petitions for Imaan Zainab Hazir-Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha.

On Tuesday, the court returned bail petitions filed by human rights lawyers Imaan and Hadi in the Kohsar police station protest case over the absence of signed powers of attorney.

During the proceedings, ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra directed the jail superintendent to explain why he should not be sentenced to six months in prison for allegedly disobeying the court’s orders.

No representative of Adiala jail appeared before the court, while the two accused could also not be produced through video link despite a previous direction.

Dr Shireen Mazari, Imaan’s mother, and a large number of lawyers appeared before the court during the proceedings.

The judge expressed displeasure over the failure of the jail authorities to obtain Imaan and Hadi’s signatures on the powers of attorney, which are required to authorise lawyers to represent them in the bail proceedings.

Judge Sipra remarked that the jail superintendent should not push the court — or himself — into a corner.

He asked whether the deputy superintendent had collected the powers of attorneys from the sessions court on the relevant day.

Advocate Riasat Ali Azad told the court that he was not certain whether the documents had been collected from the court. He said the lawyers had submitted the powers of attorneys there for onward transmission to Adiala jail in compliance with the court’s order.

The serial numbers of the powers of attorneys submitted to the sessions court were subsequently presented before the bench.

The court staff informed Judge Sipra that Imaan and Hadi were not being produced through video link because the jail authorities had cited internet connectivity problems.

The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation, observing that the Adiala jail authorities had also repeatedly cited internet connectivity issues in an earlier case.

He recalled that he had previously directed experts from PTCL and NTC to visit Adiala jail to resolve the connectivity problem, specifically instructing that experts be sent from Haripur.

Judge Sipra observed that obtaining and signing the vakalatnama was a fundamental right of an accused and could not be denied on account of administrative hurdles.

The court subsequently issued a show-cause notice for contempt of court to the Adiala jail superintendent and sought an explanation as to why he should not be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

The ATC adjourned further proceedings until Tuesday.

On January 24, an Islamabad sessions court sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

However, on September 17, the Supreme Court suspended the couple’s sentences in the controversial social media posts case. The SC granted the couple bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 and ordered their release pending the IHC’s final verdict.

Soon after their release, Islamabad police personnel, led by the SSP Operations, reached Adiala jail and arrested the two again in connection with the Kohsar police station protest case. The police subsequently produced them before the ATC late at night. However, the ATC rejected the police’s request for a 30-day physical remand of the couple and sent them to jail on judicial remand.