LAHORE, Aug 4: Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan Munir A Sheikh said on Monday parliament’s decision to either abolish or curtail the three-year extension awarded to the superior courts’ judges under the LFO would not create any constitutional or legal crisis.

Talking to reporters after taking oath as the acting CJ following Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad’s departure abroad, he said parliament was authorized to abolish or curtail the LFO provision regarding the three-year extension, and its decision would be binding on the judiciary.

When asked whether the validity of the verdicts pronounced by those judges availing themselves of the extension facility would remain intact (if such extension was curtailed or abolished), the acting CJ claimed that there was a legal precedent, validating the verdicts given by the judges during their extended tenures.

Expressing satisfaction over the steps taken by LHC Chief Justice Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry regarding Sialkot jail incident probe, he said, the Supreme Court wouldn’t take further steps in this regard.

“The judiciary cannot become a party to the trial of the officials found guilty of having mishandled the incident. In any case, it is the judiciary, which has to be consulted for relief by the accused,” he responded to a question about the direct filing of criminal case on behalf of the judiciary regarding the killings of four judges on July 25.

Justice Munir said the LHC, however, had the jurisdiction to conduct direct trial of the accused after completion of police investigation. He hoped that the Punjab chief minister would also take appropriate measures in taking the culprits to task.

Earlier, Justice Mian Muhammad Ajmal administered oath to the acting CJ at the Lahore registry. The SC judges, law officers from both the provincial Advocate-General’s office and the federal law department attended the ceremony.

However, none of the officer-bearer of the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association and the Lahore High Court Bar Association was present on the occasion.

Justice Munir A Sheikh had accepted the three-year extension to his retirement age under the LFO on July 2, 2003, when he turned 65, the retirement age for a SC judge under the previous law.

The SCBA and the LHCBA office-bearers had requested him in writing to forgo the extension, but he turned down this request. He is the third judge of the SC to accept the extension after Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad and Justice Qazi Muhammad Farooq.