ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The recent elevation of judges to the Supreme Court was challenged on Saturday through a petition in the apex court with a prayer to examine at least two of the four appointments.

The four judges elevated to the Supreme Court on Dec 12, 2001, were: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar from the Lahore High Court.

Petitioner Rai Mohammad Nawaz Kharal has sought a declaration from the SC that two of the elevations were invalid.

A senior court official endorsed that the petition had been filed.

The petitioner has also offered his candidature under Article 177 (2b) of the constitution, stating that he, like other senior advocates having 15 years of practice, was entitled to be considered for appointment as judge of the court.

The appointments have caused frustration and disappointment in the legal fraternity, he claimed.

The elevation of senior lawyers as SC judges, the petitioner contended, was in line with the scheme of the constitution and the principles enunciated in the 1996 Al-Jehad Trust case and 1998 Malik Asad Ali case.

He pleaded that former chief justice Irshad Hasan Khan could only recommend two appointments, therefore the other two of his appointments fell out of his powers, as pronounced by the court.

The petitioner contended that at the time when the appointments were announced, two vacancies existed in the SC, because of the retirement of Justice Abdul Rehman Khan and Justice Rashid Aziz Khan.

The four appointments prima facie were made to cover the two existing vacancies and the then prospective retirement of Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan on Jan 5 and Justice Mohammad Arif on Jan 9.

The petitioner contended that former chief justice, Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri, who was appointed the CJ after the retirement of Justice Irshad Hasan, was not consulted though two vacancies fell vacant during his tenure.

The petitioner contended that it had become a tendency of the federation, one of the respondents, to ignore advocates when appointing the SC judges.

The petitioner has named 21 respondents in the petition, including the federation, the four judges, Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Bar Council and all the bar councils in the country.