06-12-2007, 01:18 AM
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General Musharraf
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SC starts regular hearing of CJP’s petition
SC starts regular hearing of CJP’s petition
Quote:
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday started regular hearing of the petition of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after 19 days of arguments on its maintainability.
The bench did not pass a formal judgement on the maintainability of the petition, but it announced that it will hear the case and that a consolidated judgement on the objections raised by the government would come after the hearing.
Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday ruled that the court would first take up only the CJP’s petition and decide the fate of similar petitions later.
Government lawyers Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada and Malik Qayyum have opposed the petition, arguing that the SJC cannot be challenged in the SC under Articles 210 and 211 of the Constitution and the president enjoys immunity under Article 248. After the government lawyers concluded their arguments, Justice Ramday invited the CJP’s counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan to open his arguments on the merits of the case. Ahsan tried to establish that the reference against the CJP was made shortly after he refused to resign during his meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf on March 9.
The reference, Ahsan said, was moved with mala fide intention as it contained flaws and seemed to have been filed without ‘application of mind’.
Aitzaz submitted that the CJP had noticed 6,000 cases of human rights abuse in one calendar year alone and in some cases action was taken against many high-ups, inviting the ire of the president. He said he would also question the restraining of a judge of the superior court from functioning and his forced leave without completion of procedure laid down in Article 209 of the Constitution.
Ahsan said he would also challenge the validity of the notification for the appointment of an acting chief justice, the convening of the SJC meeting, and the restraining order against the CJP by the SJC, all being done on the same day, March 9. He would also question the veracity of the orders issued to send the CJP on forced leave.
Agencies add: Asked later if he was happy with the decision to admit the CJP’s plea for regular hearing, Ahsan said: “Yes, absolutely.”
Government attorney Ahmed Raza Qasuri insisted he was not disappointed. Ahsan will continue his arguments on Tuesday. The full court directed that only Pirzada and Maqbool Elahi Malik, counsel of the federation, would be allowed to counter Ahsan’s arguments.
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[source: Daily Times]
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