ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: The first Monday of September is traditionally the first working day of Supreme Court of Pakistan after its annual three-month vacations. This year, a ceremony attended by senior lawyers, advocates and advocates-on-record will mark the opening of the judicial year 2004-05 at the Court House at 11.30am on September 6.

Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, the Chief Justice, has constituted five benches to decide 188 petitions during the week. According to the cause list, bench I will comprise the chief justice, Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.

Bench II will consist of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi. Likewise, Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, Justice Falak Sher and Justice M. Javed Buttar will lead bench III.

Bench IV will consist of Justice Hamid Ali Mirza, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani. Bench V will comprise Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan and Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar.

On September 8, the bench III will also hear the appeals filed by family members of the army officials under custody of military authorities for allegedly violating the Army Act.

The family members have challenged the decision of the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi bench, dismissing their petitions. The high court had observed that Section 2/d of the Army Act 1952 had taken away the jurisdiction of the court to proceed with their petitions.

The separate petitions have been filed by Yasmin Khalid, wife of Col Khalid Mahmood Abbasi; Abida Parveen, wife of Lt-Col Abdul Ghaffar Khan; Mumtaz Attaullah, wife of Maj Attaullah Khan Mehmood; Farina Ruhail Faraz, wife of Maj Ruhail Faraz; Khadija Adil, wife of Maj Adil Quddus Khan, and Farzana Tasneem, mother of Capt Dr Usman Zafar.

The Federation of Pakistan through secretaries ministries of interior and defence and director-general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are respondent in the appeals filed under Article 185(3) of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court is still short of two judges though three high court judges were elevated on July 29 by President Pervez Musharraf to fill the seats lying vacant since January. The sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 17 (sixteen plus one the chief justice).

The seats fell vacant after the implementation of the government-MMA accord on the 17th constitutional bill when the three-year extension granted to the judges was withdrawn.