Pakistan

Constitutional status revoked: SC rejects PCO judges’ appeals

They will be tried for defying the apex court’s restraining order of November 3.

Qaiser Zulfiqar May 19, 2011

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary has revoked the constitutional status of Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) judges in his judgment and dismissed their intra-court appeals contesting the Supreme Court’s decision to frame charges against them.

The chief justice has declared in the verdict that PCO judges will be tried for defying the apex court’s restraining order of November 3 and that all serving PCO judges ceased to hold their offices from April 20, 2010, the day the 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed by parliament.

The court during the course of hearing of the appeals had asked the government to clarify its position on the status of PCO judges since parliament had not ratified the steps taken by a dictator on November 3, 2007, nor had they been endorsed in the 18th Amendment. PCO judges are being tried for contempt of court for taking oath under the PCO promulgated by former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf.

The verdict authored by the chief justice states that since the PCO judges have been stripped of their status, they cannot claim immunity from being tried for contempt of court pursuant to Article 204 of the Constitution read with relevant laws. Their cases will be placed before the respective bench for further proceedings.

The chief justice directed Law Secretary Masud Chishti to issue notifications that the PCO judges ceased to hold their offices last year. The court held that the appellants and other PCO judges will be entitled to benefits till that date. According to the judgment, if found guilty of contempt of court, all the perks and privileges received by them would have to be returned as well as pensioner’s benefits. A six member-bench headed by the chief justice reserved its verdict on the intra-court appeals of Justice Hasnat Ahmed Khan, Justice Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Justice Syed Hamid Ali Shah, Justice (Retd) Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhary, Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah and Justice Yasmin Abbasey on April 4.

Earlier, a four-member bench headed by Justice MA Shahid Siddiqui had announced its verdict on points of law on the initiation of contempt proceedings against PCO judges on February 2 for taking oath in defiance of a restraining order passed by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (7)

Dr. Saleem Siddiqi | 12 years ago | Reply @Fayyaz Haider: PPP remained absent and in other words had moral approval. One wrong cannot make the other right. Therefore, ALL repeat ALL PCO Judges should be barred from taking part. Those 7 judges you mentioned were all collaborator to save their skin and subotage the action against present suprement court chie Justice. Instead of matter of charge sheet which was referred to Supreme Judicial Council for a decision, they took the law in their own hands illegally and set the administrative decision aside. All these Ex-judges are crooks, and they should be fired first to keep the Judiciary alive. Otherwise they will remain Kangroo Judges / Courts. Regards Dr. Saleem Siddiqi Johannesburg - South Africa

bahraini | 12 years ago | Reply @Fayyaz Haider: You suggest 'cleaning our past'. To that end each and every member of the judiciary who took oath under PCO must be held accontable. Past PCO are as much guilty.