PCO tainted: Dysfunctional judge seeks early retirement

Justice Zahid Hussain presents application for premature retirement to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

ISLAMABAD: A dysfunctional judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Zahid Hussain presented an application for premature retirement to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Thursday, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“It is time to say goodbye to this prestigious institution,” Justice Zahid wrote in his application and requested the Chief Justice to forward it to the concerned authorities. The chief justice has sent it to the law ministry. The application has been forwarded to the President for approval.

Justice Zahid Hussain was elevated to the Supreme Court on April 14, 2009. He became dysfunctional however after Supreme Court’s verdict of July 31, 2009. He was to retire later this year. He was the only Supreme Court judge amongst 9 PCO judges to face prosecution on contempt of court charges.

Out of nine PCO judges under trial, two are retired, namely ex-Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and ex-Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain. Four dysfunctional judges are from the LHC, Justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Justice Hamid Ali Shah, Justice Hasnat Ahmad Khan and Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah. Justice Yasmin Abbasey is of the Sindh High Court and Justice Jehanzaib Rahim of the Peshawar High Court

The four-member bench headed by Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui on February 2 announced it would frame charges against PCO judges on February 21. In the meanwhile PCO judges filed intra court appeals against the short order.

The Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry constituted a seven-member larger bench to hear the intra court appeals and in the first hearing restrained seven dysfunctional PCO judges from passing any judicial order on February 18.

On the next date of hearing of the intra court appeals, the seven-member bench directed the federation to explain the legal status of PCO judges after the 18th amendment and adjourned the case till March 3.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2011.