ISLAMABAD, June 9: The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned for 15 days to await judgment of Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court in an appeal of Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari against his conviction in the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption reference.

A three-member SC bench, comprising Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, was hearing the appeal of Asif Zardari against the High Court order dismissing Mr Zardari's application for the suspension of his sentence and grant of bail in the Steel Mills case.

The High Court on March 29, 2004 had reserved its judgment on Mr Zardari's challenge against his conviction but dismissed the application for the suspension of his sentence. Hafeez Pirzada and Farooq Naek appeared on behalf of Asif Zardari before the Supreme Court bench while Jaffar Hashmi represented National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The application before the High Court was moved on the ground that Mr Zardari had already completed his sentence since he remained an under-trial prisoner till his conviction in the Steel Mills case in September 2002. He was arrested in 1996.

A Rawalpindi Accountability Court in 2002 had sentenced Asif Zardari for seven years with a fine of 40 million rupees in the Pakistan Steel Mills corruption case. Mr Zardari had later challenged the judgment in the High Court.

Farooq Naek later told Dawn that Mr Zardari in his application filed before the High Court had pleaded that he was entitled to avail the benefit of Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), under which a sentence could be counted from the time a convict was arrested.