The Supreme Court on Tuesday was requested for the removal of judges who took oath after November 3, 2007. Advocate Nadeem Ahmed filed the petition under article 184(3) of the Constitution through his counsel Muhammad Akram Sheikh, making Federation of Pakistan through Secretary, Ministry of law as respondent in the case.
"It is most respectfully prayed that this court may be pleased to declare all those persons, both in Supreme Court and high courts, regardless of whether they have taken oath under PCO or the Constitution, who have been appointed without consultation of Chief Justice of Pakistan as not judges and therefore, not entitled to function as such", said the petition.
The petition claimed that the imposition of the emergency by the army chief on November 3, 2007 was declared illegal by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court and passed a judicial order prohibiting all judges of Supreme Court and high courts from taking oath under the PCO.
That subsequently, General (Retd) Musharraf and the current President of Pakistan, without any regard to merit, competence or repute and without any consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan packed the courts with dozens of persons by placing them in the Supreme Court and high courts," the petition added.
The petition further said that all the persons who were not judges on November 3, 2007 but who were brought into Supreme Court and high courts as judges despite the fact that the Chief Justice of Pakistan was never consulted before their appointment.
"That as head of constitutional organ of judiciary, it is the foremost constitutional duty of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, without waiting for any person to point out to him, to ensure that no person is treated or serves as judge either in the Supreme Court or any of the high courts who has been appointed without his consultation and to forthwith stop such a stranger from being treated or from functioning as judge", it said.
The petition added that the Supreme Court of Pakistan may not proceed with normal work on March 24 2009 without first removing the inherent contradiction in the two basic legal assumptions on which the composition of the Supreme Court and high courts stands today.
"The Supreme Court may not treat post- November 3, 2007 judges as judges because otherwise until such time that the judgement delivered by these very judges in Tikka Iqbal case is reviewed and recalled," said the petition. The law experts said the petition can become opening of a new legal battle, if the petition will be accepted for the hearing than the court Registrar will forward the petition to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry who will constitute a bench for hearing of the case.
Meanwhile a petition seeking contempt proceedings against the judges who had sworn in after November 3, 2007 was also filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Advocate Amir Nadeem Malik filed the petition making all the post November 3, 2007 judiciary as respondents in the case.
Comments
Comments are closed.