24 February 2004	Tuesday	03 Muharram 1425

ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till Wednesday the hearing of the constitutional petition of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) challenging the Seventh Wage Board Award.

When a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Rana Bhagwandas, took up the petition for hearing, the counsel for the APNS, Barrister Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, asked the court to fix it before a bench of three or more judges, as the petition involved important constitutional points.

Mr Pirzada asked the court to refer the matter to the chief justice of Pakistan for placing it before a larger bench. Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry observed that the bench would not refer the matter to the chief justice for placing it before a larger bench and if counsel wanted, he himself should approach the chief justice.

Justice Chaudhry observed that Justice Sardar Raza Khan was not sitting on the bench for two days for some personal reasons, and the bench would be complete on Wednesday.

Mr Pirzada said he would make a request to the chief justice for placing it before the larger bench. Justice Chaudhry observed that the case would be taken on Wednesday unless there was any other order by the chief justice of Pakistan.

Advocate Akram Sheikh, representing a group of newspaper employees called Dastoori Group, said the present bench was competent to hear the case, and asked the court to proceed with the case as it had been pending for a long time.

He said the petitioners' counsel was causing delay as the maintainability of the petition, which was filed in the middle of 2002, had yet to be decided. He said newspaper industry workers were being denied their legitimate rights due to pendency of this petition.

Mr Pirzada said he was not causing any delay, and in fact the two groups of the newspaper employees were at loggerheads with each other, which delayed the proceedings.

Counsel Abid Hasan Minto and Raja Suleman were present to defend the workers of newspaper industry. Justice Chaudhry observed that the court was not avoiding the hearing of the case, and added that if there was no order from the chief justice, the petition would be decided after taking it up on Wednesday.