ISLAMABAD, Jan 15: A nine-member larger bench of the Supreme Court is hearing from Monday a set of petitions to settle a controversy whether section 2A of the Service Tribunal Act 1973 is against article 212 (administrative courts and tribunals) of the constitution and whether employees of corporations are entitled to appeal under section 2A of the act.

Headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the bench will comprise Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice Mian Shakirul-lah Jan, Justice M. Javed Buttar, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Syed Jamshed Ali.

The bench is hearing about 4,000 appeals to give an authoritative judgment on the controversy. In September 2005, the apex court had ordered the federal government to submit government policy on the issue.

A majority of the appellants, mainly from Sindh and Balochistan, belongs to different government organizations.

Senior advocates Wasim Sajjad, Akram Sheikh, Khalid Anwar, Hafiz Pirzada and Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani are appearing on behalf of different clients in the case.