ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: Defence Secretary retired Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik found himself in hot water on Friday when a visibly disturbed Supreme Court decided to frame contempt charges against him on Nov 4 for misleading the court by giving an undertaking that the local government elections would be held in all 43 cantonment boards by Sept 15.

`Now it`s time for punishment,` said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who heads a threejudge bench which has been hearing a petition filed in 2009 by a former vice president of the cantonment board Quetta, Advocate Raja Rab Nawaz, challenging the absence of local bodies in cantonment areas for 14 years.

The court also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the LG elections in the provinces on the dates suggested by them.

Sindh has given an assurance of holding the elections by Nov 27 and Punjab and Balochistan by Dec 7. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has yet to pass a law governing the LG elections.

`The frontrunner (KP) is lagging behind others,` the court said.

It observed that the ECP would have to hold the elections as per the mandate given in Article 140(A) of the constitution.

Advocate Akram Sheikh, counsel for the ECP, requested the court to consider the concise statement submitted by the commission pointing out certain difficulties in holding the elections without first completing the prerequisites.

But the court plainly told him that it was not in a position to allow any relaxation to the ECP on non-fulfilment of a constitutional duty. The chief justice directed Attorney General Muneer A.

Malik to look into the matter.

Referring to the contempt case, the court observed that the defence secretary had misguided it. Despite knowing well that it was not in his power (to give approval for holding elections), he gave an undertaking in the court, it said.

On May 5 last year, the former prime minister had given a one-year extension to the cantonment boards. The period expired on May 5 this year. The apex court extended the deadline for holding the elections to Sept 15 after it received a commitment from the defence secretary on July 2.

The chief justice observed that the secretary had blatantly flouted the court`s order.

Legal observers believe that Yasin Malik may be the first senior military officer, though retired, to face contempt charges.

Advocate Iftikhar Gilani, representing Mr Malik, and the attorney general tried to rescue the secretary by expressing repentance and tendering apology on behalf of the secretary by throwing him at the benevolence of the court.

The counsel explained that it was not in his client`s powers to issue order for immediately holding the elections and recalled that the Supreme Court had exercised restraint in the Imran Khan case.

But the bench explained that it had not issued notice to the PTI chief. Rather he was asked to come to the Supreme Court.

`The court does exercise restraint since contempt cases are not meant to satisfy personal ego but to discourage disobedience,` said Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, a member of the bench.

The court asked the defence secretary`s counsel to name in writing the person who had to give approval for holding the elections and made it clear that nobody could be allowed to flout its orders.

The attorney general said the intention to hold elections was absolutely there, but explained that amendments had to be made in the Cantonment Board Act 1924.

A committee had been constituted by the prime minister for the process. `The undertaking given to the court will definitely be honoured,` he said.

The court warned the government against spending a single penny on the cantonment boards till the election of a new body. It regretted that the local government elections had not been held in cantonment areas for 14 years.