Iftikhar Chaudhry
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. — File photo/Online

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the Supreme Court would hear the Rental Power Projects (RPP) case "though the heavens fall", DawnNews reported.

The chief justice added that the apex court would decide all cases that it has been hearing in accordance with the country's Constitution and its laws.

Chief Justice Iftikhar made the above remarks during the hearing of a petition the apex court.

During the hearing, the chief justice, addressing former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Yasin Azad, said that although there was hue and cry in Islamabad that the court should not hear the case, the case would be heard and decided in accordance with the law "though the heavens fall".

Chief Justice Iftikhar said the judges had taken oaths to dispense justice, adding that it did not matter to the court what was happening outside its boundaries.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar, had on Tuesday directed the authorities to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the RPP case.

The prime minister has been accused of receiving kickbacks and commission in the RPPs case as minister for water and power.

In the case, nine RPPs firms were accused of receiving more than Rs22 billion as a mobilisation advance from the government to commission the projects but most of them did not set up their plants and a few of them installed them but with inordinate delay.

In March 2012, the Supreme Court had held the RPP contracts non-transparent and ordered that these be rescinded.

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