ISLAMABAD, April 28: Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas on Saturday constituted a five-member larger bench to hear from May 7 a number of identical petitions, including a challenge by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry against the formation of the Supreme Judicial Council and President Pervez Musharraf’s move to file a reference against him.

Headed by Justice M. Javed Buttar, the other judges in the larger bench will include Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Hamid Ali Mirza and will commence day to day hearing early next month to decide the petitions on the same issue.

The constitution of the bench followed a request to the acting chief justice by Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan who had declined to hear the case for being a signatory to the SJC’s endorsement of president’s restraining of the chief justice.

On Thursday last, the chief justice had also filed an application pleading to decide his request of staying proceedings of the SJC in the reference against him either on April 30 or May 2 before the proceedings of the council.

In his application, the chief justice had contended that it had been a longstanding practice of the apex court to constitute full court for consideration of important constitutional issues.

In his main petition, the chief justice had raised 132 questions on competence of the SJC to try the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the constitution of the Supreme Judicial Council without the CJP, the personal bias and prospects of advancement of some of the members of the council, alleged mala fide intention and collateral purpose of the referring authority and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, haste with which the referring authority (the president) had acted against the CJP, illegal suspension and forced leave, illegal assumption of office by the acting chief justice, the executive assault on the independence of judiciary and camera proceedings.

His petition has been divided into four sections by asking questions of law, the facts of the case, the grounds for the petition and the relief being sought.

The petitioner also narrated salient events of his career as CJP, including the events of March 9, as well as major cases, including 6,000 human rights abuse cases, which he had presided over to give relief to the poor defenceless citizens.

Denying charges levelled against him in the reference, the petitioner demanded open public trial by an impartial, unbiased and legally competent forum with full opportunity to obtain the record required for his defence.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Kakar on Saturday challenged the appointment of Justice Hamid Ali Mirza as ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court by filing a petition in the Supreme Court.

Citing the Al-Jihad Trust case, commonly known as the judges’ case, the petitioner said the practice of appointing ad hoc judges had been declared unlawful by the apex court.