SC rejects plea for full court: Petitions against re-election
By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry turned down on Wednesday a request to constitute a full court to hear petitions challenging the eligibility of Gen Pervez Musharraf to run for the office of president.
“Honourable Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has decided that the bench already constituted for constitutional petitions of Wajihuddin Ahmed, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Waseem Rehan and Liaquat Baloch may proceed with the matter from October 18 to dispose of the cases accordingly,” a Supreme Court announcement said.
It said Justice Falak Sher had expressed his inability to be member of the bench hearing the petitions because he had already expressed his opinion on merits of President Musharraf’s eligibility while deciding separate cases against the dual-office law.
The same is the case with Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, while Justice Rana Bhagwandas is out of the country on leave. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk will on Oct 20 proceed abroad on an official commitment and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad is on medical leave.
Referring to himself, the CJ explained that judicial propriety required that he avoid sitting on the bench hearing petitions challenging Gen Musharraf’s eligibility as presidential candidate.
Headed by Justice Javed Iqbal, the bench comprises Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Syed Jamshed Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani.
Earlier accepting the request to hear petitions challenging the acceptance of Gen Musharraf’s nomination by the Election Commission for the presidential election by the full court, the bench referred the case to the chief justice.
“Let these petitions be placed before the chief justice to consider the constitution of a full court,” Justice Javed Iqbal announced after a half-an-hour break to consider the request.
Advocates Hamid Khan, Mohammad Akram Sheikh, A.K. Dogar and Dr Farooq Hassan had requested the bench to constitute full court. Attorney-General Malik Mohammad Qayyum opposed it and said government’s objections should also be formed part of the request.
He said the authorities had objected to the presence on the bench of four judges who had held that Gen Musharraf was disqualified to contest the presidential election.
At the outset, Advocate Hamid Khan pleaded for the constitution of full court and said it would be good for the future of the nation and the lawyers’ community to come out of the state of anxiety.
“The verdicts in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case and in the dual-office case give rise to our apprehensions as requests for the full court were also advanced in these cases but were declined and what we get in return were split decisions against the good of the nation. We will accept as a bad luck for the nation if the full court decides against us, but a favourable judgment will be considered an act of benevolence,” Hamid Khan said, although he clarified that petitioners had full confidence in each judge of the 11-member bench.
Justice Javed Iqbal, however, explained that it came under the purview of the CJ to constitute the full court, but complained that lawyers were giving all kinds of analysis against the Sept 28 judgment of dismissing petitions on maintainability against the holding of dual office by President Musharraf when reasons for throwing out the petitions had not even been written.
Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday observed that the bench would not leave to individual parties to decide about the formation of the bench, rather it would be for the judges to decide to sit or to recuse.
