News
Monday, August 08, 2011
Govt removes 5 PCO judges* Prime minister issues de-notification in compliance with Supreme Court’s May 18 order
* De-notified judges are entitled to get service benefits upto April 20, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday de-notified the judges of the Lahore and Sindh high courts in pursuance of the decision of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, also the chairman of Supreme Judicial Council.
The judges of the Lahore High Court, whose de-notification was issued, include Justice Syed Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Justice Syed Hamid Ali Shah, Justice Hasnat Ahmad Khan and Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah.
The appointment of Justice Yasmin Abbasey as the Sindh High Court judge has also been de-notified.
A statement issued from the Prime Minister’s House said that the above judges would be entitled to the service and pension benefit upto April 20, 2010 when 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed.
“The prime minister attaches great importance to the independence of judiciary. The designs of certain elements to pitch the institutions against each other will be foiled,” the statement added.
Earlier on August 5, the Supreme Court granted two days to the federation to issue de-notification of a number of former judges who took oath under annulled Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) of 2007 and consequently, had to cease holding their offices after July 31, 2009 decision of the apex court.
A five-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, expressed its displeasure in delay over issuance of required notification in pursuance of its May 18 order.
At the very outset of the hearing, the federation’s counsel, Babar Awan, had informed the court that a summary had been sent to the prime minister regarding the removal of the serving PCO judges, but he could not approve it due to his busy schedule.
The court observed that there was no need for sending a summary to the prime minister regarding the removal of the serving PCO judges.
The chief justice, expressing concern over the non-implementation of the court’s order, observed that it was a constitutional requirement to obey the court’s decisions and these orders should not be ridiculed.
He further said that no one would be allowed to undermine the court’s authority and the government should implement the court’s judgements in letter and spirit.
The chief justice had also observed that according to several media reports the court’s May 18 decision was criticised in the cabinet meeting. The counsel rejected the media reports as baseless.
Babar assured the bench that the government would issue a notification regarding the removal of the serving PCO judges by Monday.
On May 18, rejecting the intra-court appeals of the PCO judges, the Supreme Court held that all the serving PCO judges ceased to hold their offices from April 20, 2010, the day the 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk