Hearing of petitions against presidential reference

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ISLAMABAD: The 13-member full court Tuesday resumed hearing of the constitutional petition of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other petitions against the presidential reference.

Mujeeb Peerzada was arguing on the maintainability of the petition when the court time was over. He will continue his arguments when the Full Court resumes hearing of the case today (Tuesday).

On Monday, Barrister Zafrullah, Akram Shaikh advocate and Hafiz Abdul Rehman Ansari were completed their arguments relating to the maintainability of the petitions.

Advocate Akram Shaikh, the counsel for the Lahore High Court Bar Association told the Supreme Court that the executive’s interference in the affairs of judiciary had always been found evident and filing of reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was also a part of meddling with the judicial affairs.

Akram Sheikh termed the presidential reference unreliable as it is based on the reports of the heads of intelligence agencies. He said the chief justice has been made non-functional before filing of the reference and the oath was administered to the acting chief justice before filing of the reference.

He argued that his petitions involved malice on part of President Pervez Musharraf as the chief justice was detained in the Army House, Rawalpindi, for five hours and was pressurized to resign.

Giving arguments on maintainability of the petition, he submitted that the Supreme Judicial Council’s endorsement of making the chief justice non-functional came without any authority. He said it is not the case of a section of lawyers alone but a matter that has affected fundamental rights of all the citizens of this country.

He argued the petition is also maintainable because the president has caused structural damage to the Supreme Court by suspending the chief justice by making him non-functional and forcing him to proceed on compulsory leave.

He also submitted that president has no immunity against the steps he had
taken which were mala fide or without jurisdiction as his authority was not absolute. Later Mujeeb Peerzada was arguing on the maintainability of the petition when the court time was over.

The full court headed by Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday and comprising Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice M Javed Buttar, Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Syed Jamshed Ali, Justice Hamid Ali Mirza and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing arguments on maintainability of the CJ’s petition along with other identical petitions.