LAHORE, Jan 31: A full bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of as infractuous two petitions filed by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto seeking bail in an illegal assets’ reference.

The petitions were taken up for hearing before the bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tassaduq Husain Jillani and Justice Syed Jamshed Ali Shah.

Counsel for the former prime minister Aitzaz Ahsan and Sardar Latif Khan Khosa appeared and requested the bench to dispose of the petitions as they had already become infractuous, which was accepted.

Before the promulgation of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999, an ehtesab court comprising judges of the Lahore High Court were trying those accused of corruption and illegal assets under the Ehtesab Ordinance 1996.

A Lahore High Court’s ehtesab bench comprising Justice Ehsanul Haq Chaudhry (retired) and Justice Mian Saeedur Rehman Farrukh (retired) were trying Benazir. In July 1999, Benazir Bhutto had moved these two petitions seeking interim bail for appearance before the court and also to transfer the case to some other court.