PAK COURT SUSPENDS TOP JUDGE CASE

In a ruling seen as a strong slap on the face of the Musharraf regime, the Supreme Court on May 7 suspended a judicial panel’s hearing into charges of misconduct and corruption levelled against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry.
“This is the vindication of our point of view on the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC),” Aitizaz Ahsan, the top judge’s lead defence counsel, reportedly said.
A five-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a petition by Chaudry challenging his suspension by President Pervez Musharraf and the competency of the SJC, a panel of five senior judges.
It recommended to acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagnwan Das to form a larger bench of the apex court to hear the presidential reference against the suspended top judge. Aitizaz insisted the entire proceedings of the SJC were unconstitutional. “From the very first day, we had been pleading before the Supreme Court that the constitution of the SJC was illegal. And the court’s order has vindicated our stance.”
Musharraf had suspended the top judge on March 9 on charges of corruption and misconduct but the legal community and opposition saw the move as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
The Pakistan Bar Council, the Punjab High Court Bar Association and other lawyers associations plan to celebrate a “success day.”
Chaudry had objected to the presence of Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Iftikhar Ahmad, who according to him, harboured bias against him.
However, government lawyers refused to recognise the new ruling as a defeat.