SC rejects appeals of PCO judges

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court rejected the intra-court appeals filed by the dysfunctional judges of the superior courts who took oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) against its judgment of February 2.

The SC on April 04 had reserved its judgment in the intra-court appeals filed by the judges.

The apex court in its verdict said that the appellants are no more judges and there will be contempt proceedings against them. The order also asked the federal government to notify PCO judges about their termination.

The appellants include Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhary, Shabbar Raza, Hasnat Ahmad, Hamid Ali Shah, Sajjad Hussain, Yasmin Abbasi and Jehanzeb Rahim of Peshawar High Court.

The court also added that the parliament did not ratify PCO judges after 18th amendment.

A six-member special bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, announced the verdict in the intra-court appeals of the PCO judges against the court's verdict of February 2, 2011 wherein the court had ruled to frame charges against the PCO judges who took oath under the PCO and violated the court's restraining order of November 3, 2007.

The court reserved the judgment after counsel for the applicants completed their arguments. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed dissatisfaction over the Federation's reply, submitted by Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, saying that questions it had raised, as to what was the status of these PCO judges when parliament under the 18th Constitutional Amendment did not validate the actions taken on November 3rd, 2007, remained unanswered.