Supreme Court Monday rejected objections raised by PCO judges on composition of bench hearing contempt notices against them. The bench comprising Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawad S Khwaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervez was hearing contempt charges against the superior courts' judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) in defiance of a restraining order issued by a seven-judge bench on November 3, 2007.
The bench dismissed the objections of PCO judges and rejected the plea for constitution of a new bench. Dr Abdul Basit, counsel for PCO judges - Justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi and Justice Hasnat Ahmed Khan, contended that if contempt proceedings against the PCO judges remain continued, the pending intra-court appeals would stand infractuous. The court, however, rejected his plea for stopping proceedings of the case on the basis of intra-court appeals.
Dr Basit argued that the PCO judges were issued contempt notices for violating the restraining order, however, the Generals had been spared, which was against the constitutional obligations. On this, Justice Jawad S Khwaja said the court would take steps in this regard according to the constitution.
Dr Basit had filed an intra-court appeal against the dismissal of his plea with a request that the proceedings be halted till the allegation of bias raised against members of the bench is decided. On July 8, he had also objected to the presence of Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed who since then chose not to sit on the bench.
Justice Jawad S Khwaja said "they not only have to save the dignity and honour of the apex court but also have to enhance it." He added that it was the duty of both the bench and the bar. He asked Nadeem Ahmed Sheikh, counsel for Justice Hamid Ali Shah, to provide all the documents he had mentioned in his application. Later the hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.
Dr Khalid Ranjha, counsel for former Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, said that in the interest of justice and fair play, the judges against whom objections have been raised should recuse themselves from the bench, so that requirements of Article 10A of the Constitution are fully met, which is now a fundamental right guaranteed to a citizen.
Former Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar had objected on Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, saying that they had taken oath from him, while Justice Jehanzaib Rahim had sought recusal of Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawad S Khwaja and Justice Tariq Parvez from the bench, expressing fears that he did not expect a fair trial in presence of these judges, as they had spoken critically of him at the peak of the judicial crisis as well as during the hearing.
Earlier, a five-member larger bench comprising Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawad S Khwaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez had started hearing on contempt of court cases against the PCO judges from November 29. But after the objection of Dr Abdul Basit, counsel for Justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi and Justice Hasnat Ahmed Khan, on three judges of the bench - Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui and Justice Tariq Parvez, the bench though dismissed the objection but discontinued the hearing as Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, who was heading the bench, separated himself from the bench.
After that a four-member larger bench comprising Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawad S Khwaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez constituted to hear the case.
The oath of Justice Dogar, who was named the Supreme Court chief justice soon after the November 3, 2007, emergency imposed by former president Pervez Musharraf, was held unconstitutional by a 14-judge bench in its verdict on July 31 last year. It also held illegal all actions taken by the former president, including the appointment of a number of judges.
Besides Justice Dogar, the other judges facing contempt charges are: Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, a former chief justice of the Lahore High Court, and eight sitting judges - Justice Sayed Zahid Hussain of the Supreme Court and Justices Khurshid Anwar Bhinder, Hamid Ali Shah, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Hasnat Ahmed Khan, Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Yasmin Abbasey and Jehanzaib Rahim of different high courts.
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