SC stays hearing in Pak judge case

Islamabad: A 13-member full bench of Pakistan Supreme Court, hearing petition of the suspended Chief Justice challenging the Presidential reference of allegations against him, on Tuesday extended the stay on proceedings of a council of top judges looking into charges that he misused his power.

Formally commencing its hearing on Tuesday on Iftikhar Chaudhry's petition after days of legal wrangling and disruptions, the bench in its first order extended the stay on the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) till further orders.

An earlier bench had granted the stay, regarded as a major victory for Chaudhry.

The full court granted the extension after Chaudhry's counsel Aitzaz Ahsan asked for it and the government counsel did not oppose it.

The bench commenced the hearing of the petition after a series of reversals due to some of the judges opting out of the bench on different grounds as well as the murder of an Additional Supreme Court Registrar Hamaad Raza on Monday.

Two judges quit the panel during the past few weeks. While one judge left the earlier panel on the grounds that he had already endorsed the SJC, considered illegal by Chaudhry, the other justice quit on Monday asserting that he had issues relating to seniority with Chaudhry as the suspended judge had superseded him.

Following this, Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Rana Bhagwan Das reconstituted the bench which is expected to adjudicate on Chaudhry's objections that President Pervez Musharraf was not empowered to send reference of allegations against him and the SJC was not competent to conduct proceedings against him.