LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday disposed of a petition by the wife of PTI President Parvez Elahi seeking contempt proceedings against three police officers of the provincial metropolis for their failure to safely escort her husband from the court to home.

Advocate Sha n Gull appeared on behalf of DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar and other police officers facing contempt.

The counsel argued the Punjab police officers on Sept 1 were accompanying PTI President Parvez Elahi, however, when they were close to his Gulberg house, they were intercepted by Islamabad police for execution of an order of preventive detention issued from the authority concerned of the capitalterritory.

He said the Punjab police genuinely and without any malice remained under the impres-sion that since the order ofpreventive detention pertained to the authority of Islamabad, therefore, they were left with no jurisdiction.

He further said the situation was such that the Punjab police were left with no option to avoid any unwante d incident.

He said the police without any delay informed the registrar of the high court about the incident.

The lawyer said the police officers submitted unconditional apology placing them at the mercy of the court.

Islamabad Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat argued that only the Islamabad High Court had the jurisdiction regarding any act of Islamabad police, which was essentially taken in pursuance of order issued from the magistrate of Islamabad.

Advocate Amir Saeed Rawn, the counsel for the petitioner, asked the court to decide the matter in accordance with law.

He acknowledged that the matter was now between the court and the contemnors.Justice sultan Tanvir Ahmad observed that the explanation of the counselfor the respondent police officers regarding the honest belief of respondents had substance.

The judge remarked that power to convict for contempt was extraordinary and can be exercised with great circumspection, only where it was absolutely necessary.

He said the purpose of contempt was not to wreak vengeance.

`The forgiveness and pardon enshrined in Islam, is one of the hallmarks of Islamic system of dispensation of justice, the judge wrote in his order.

The judge accepted the unconditional apology of the police officers and disposed of the contempt petition.

The Islamabad police had on Sept1rearrestedPTIPresident Parvez Elahi near his Gulberg residence soon after the LHC set him free with a restraining order against his possible arrest or detention by any agency and the government.