Fixes petition for hearing on Monday, asks PM to appear in person or through his lawyers. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court issued notices to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Saturday, asking him to appear before the court in person or through his lawyers on Monday, March 11.
The court will take up the prime minister’s letter requesting the apex court to constitute an independent judicial commission to investigate the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry converted the prime minister’s letter into a petition and fixed it for a regular hearing on March 11, says a handout issued by the Supreme Court office.
“The letter received may be registered subject to all just exceptions as a civil miscellaneous application. Fix this letter in court on March 11,” Justice Chaudhry ordered.
“Notice to Raja Pervaiz Ashraf be issued either to appear in person or through duly authorised representatives such as an advocate Supreme Court who had been appearing on his behalf in earlier proceedings,” the handout quoted the chief justice as saying.
The chief justice, after going through the letter, decided to treat it as an application from the prime minister and ordered that it would be heard in the open court.
On Friday, Prime Minister Ashraf, after consulting his legal aides, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court, saying that an independent judicial commission should be formed to inquire into corruption charges against him in the RPPs scam.
In March last year, the apex court had dissolved all rental power projects and directed a criminal action against 16 accused persons, including the premier who was then minister for water and power.
The apex court took up the matter after former federal minister for housing and works Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat complained of massive corruption in awarding contracts for rental power projects.
Memo case
Meanwhile, the chief justice formed a larger bench comprising nine judges of the apex court to hear the memo case. The hearing will take place on Monday.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2013.
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