LAHORE, March 19: Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad (retired) says superior courts judges deposed under the Nov 3, 2007, Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) should be restored, but the judges who succumbed to the PCO’s allegiance should not be retained.
Speaking at a seminar titled ‘Challenges for coalition government’ arranged by the Liberal Forum at a local hotel here on Wednesday, Justice Wajih, a former Supreme Court justice, who refused to take oath under the January 2000 version of the PCO, said the restoration of the judges and independence of the judiciary should be on top of the agenda of the coalition government, but retaining the PCO judges would inflict the judiciary with an ailment from which it would never recover.
He said it was being stated that regular judges of superior courts who took oath under the PCO would be retained and those appointed on Nov 3 or afterwards would be regularised after they cleared an examination.
He said there was no justification for retaining the judges who disgraced the judiciary by taking oath under the PCO and validating it after a seven-member Supreme Court bench had declared it “unconstitutional”.
He said the new judges could not be retained even after passing a test because they had not been appointed on the recommendation of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) according to the procedure prescribed in the Constitution.
Malik Qayyum and Rashid Aziz also deserved to be restored in case those appointed on Nov 3 and afterwards were to be retained after passing a test. The judges required to be inducted in a transparent manner and they should not only pass the test, they should show that they had a good moral character as well.
He said the chief of army staff had deposed 63 of 95 superior court judges by an executive order he was not authorised to issue even under the Army Act.
The prime minister could restore the judges by an executive order without waiting for a resolution of the National Assembly because the emergency had been lifted on Dec 15 and steps taken by Gen Musharraf had not been indemnified and given any constitutional protection.
He said a number of conspiracies were being hatched to prevent the restoration of the superior courts judges. It was being stated that reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had been restored because the short order contemplating his reinstatement had not been followed by a detailed order after a majority of the Supreme Court judges were sacked under the proclamation of emergency and the ensuing PCO.
He said the short order automatically became the final order under the law in case a detailed order was not issued.
Seperately, speaking at a meeting held in Ichhra to pay homage to 313 Khaksars martyred on March 19, 1940, during the independence movement, Justice Wajih said support of two-thirds majority of the National Assembly was required only to amend the Constitution and mere a resolution was enough to reinstate the judges.
Earlier, addressing the Liberal Forum seminar, Advocate Ahmad Awais, a former Lahore High Court Bar Association president, said that establishment of a constitutional government would be the biggest challenge for the coalition because President Musharraf had seized power through a coup and then not only disfigured the Constitution, but also made parliament irrelevant.
He said that lawyers’ movement had eradicated the fear of a dictator from among the people.
He said that the coalition government should be aware of conspiracies being fuelled to accommodate the dictator and his supporters.