‘Sell your Bentley cars and pay your employees,’ CJP Nisar tells media house owners

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on Friday warned that the apex court will take action against the media houses that have still not paid salaries to their employees, if they did not clear all dues soon, The Dawn newspaper reported.

While hearing a request filed by Tayyab Baloch, the president of Press Association of Supreme Court, Justice Nisar said the court will take action against media houses — that have not paid their employees — under the Revenue Recovery Act and suggested the companies’ lawyers to read it.

Pervez Shaukat, who was representing media employees along with Baloch, told the court that the media workers did not have money to pay their children’s school fee because they had not received their salaries. He claimed that the media houses had received billions to speak against the judiciary.

The apex court ordered Capital TV to pay their employees by December 5 while Daily Times, Nawai Waqt, The Nation, Bol News, 7 News, Star Asia and Khabrain were given until December 15. Moreover, the ARY group was also ordered to pay two employees whose salaries had been withheld.

Justice Nisar warned that if the media houses failed to comply with the court’s order, they will face contempt charges and their owners will be sent to jail.

The chief justice ordered Capital TV to submit the copies of the cheques and an affidavit after paying withheld salaries. When Justice Nisar asked if claims of not receiving salaries were false, the representative of Capital TV said that the workers had “exaggerated the situation”.

Daily Times’ council told the court that employees had been paid two months’ salary and had yet to pay them for two more months.

Justice Nisar ordered the media houses to pay their employees even if they have to “beg or borrow loans”.

“Sell your Bentley cars and pay your employees,” he told the media house owners.

 

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