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Posted by: Report Press | Friday 20 July 2007

SCP Order

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SCP Reinstates CJP – Declares Reference of Army Tyrant as ILLEGAL

By SYED ADEEB

(ReportPress.com) – Thirteen (13) judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) issued their unanimous judicial Order on Friday, 20 July 2007, which has judiciously reinstated Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Mr. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to his constitutional position of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). The SCP justices have declared all relevant orders and notifications issued against the CJP by official outlaws as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, because they were illegally issued without any lawful authority and because they violate many Articles of the current Constitution of Pakistan.

The following is a summary of the Pakistan Supreme Court Order:

1. The Reference (lawsuit), dated 9 March 2007, illegally filed by General (retired) Pervez Musharraf – an unconstitutional, illegal, self-appointed President and corrupt, criminal, terrorist, tyrant of the Pakistan Army – is unconstitutional and illegal.

2. The Judges (Compulsory Leave) Order, 1970 (P.O. No. 27 of 1970) – illegally issued by dead General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (1969-1971) – an unconstitutional, illegal, self-appointed President and corrupt, criminal, terrorist, tyrant of the Pakistan Army – is unconstitutional, illegal and therefore unanimously declared as null and void.

3. The order of Dictator Musharraf, dated 15 March 2007, illegally issued by Justice (retired) Mansoor Ahmed – Secretary of the Law, Justice & Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Outlaws – which partly stated that “the [unconstitutional] President is pleased to order that Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice and Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, shall be on compulsory leave with effect from the 9th March 2007, till submission of the report by the Supreme Judicial Council [SJC] and the [self-appointed] President’s order” – is unconstitutional and illegal.

4. The order of Tyrant Musharraf, dated 9 March 2007, illegally issued by Mansoor Ahmed – which partly states that “the [unlawful] President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan does hereby restrain Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to act as Chief Justice of Pakistan and a Judge of the Supreme Court”, – is unconstitutional and illegal. The Order of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), dated 9 March 2007, restraining the CJP from acting as the Chief Justice and as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan is also unconstitutional and illegal.

5. The appointment of Justice Javed Iqbal as the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the SCP through a notification, dated 9 March 2007, illegally made by Terrorist Musharraf and unlawfully issued by Mansoor Ahmed, and the appointment of Justice Rana Bhagwandas as the ACJ of the SCP through notification, dated 22 March 2007, unlawfully made by Criminal Musharraf and illegally issued by Mansoor Ahmed, are unconstitutional and illegal.

6. “By majority of 10 to 3 (Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, dissenting), this Constitution Original Petition No. 21 of 2007 filed by Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan [CJP], is allowed; as a result whereof, the above-mentioned Direction (the Reference) of the [illegal] President, dated March 9, 2007, is set aside. As a further consequence thereof, the Petitioner, CJP, shall be deemed to be holding the said office and shall always be deemed to have been so holding the same.”

The total 19 justices/judges of the SCP and many other judges/justices of provincial high courts and the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) of Pakistan were oppressed, enslaved and forced at gunpoint by the ruling military dictator, General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, to take a new illegal oath of their office under the unconstitutional Oath of Office (Judges) Order (OOJO) 2000, the unconstitutional Proclamation of Emergency Order (PEO) 1999 and the unconstitutional Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) No. 1 of 1999.

About the unlawful Oath of Office (Judges) Order 2000, dated 25 January 2000, the New York, USA-based Human Rights First (HRF), a noted organization of American attorneys at law and human rights advocates, issued and published its following media-press statement:

Rights Group Condemns Dismissal of Pakistani Judges

Attack on Independent Judges Should Inform Clinton

New York, USA, 1 February 2000 (HRF) – Human Rights First [HRF] condemned the dismissal this week of senior Pakistani judges who refused to take an allegiance oath to the military regime led by General Pervez Musharraf. The Oath of [Office] (Judges) Order 2000 required the judges to take a fresh oath of office swearing allegiance to emergency provisions enshrining military rule, at the expense of Pakistan’s Constitution. Under the new order, judges must swear that they will make no decisions against the Military Government. “The regime has removed one of Pakistan’s key safeguards against dictatorship by outlawing constitutional review of military rule,” said Robert O. Varenik, Director of Human Rights First’s Protection Program.

All judges who refused to take the new oath, including Chief Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui and 13 Supreme Court judges, have been dismissed. The oath appears to require judges to obey the edicts of the Military Government at the expense of Pakistan’s Constitution. General Musharraf seized power on October 12, 1999, citing widespread corruption in Government.

The allegiance oath is the latest sign that General Musharraf is failing his stated intention to uphold democratic principles and international law. Following the October 1999 coup, General Musharraf suspended Parliament and issued emergency constitutional provisions, Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) No. 1 of 1999. The Oath of Judges Order 2000 was issued a week before one of the dismissed judges, Chief Justice Siddiqui, was scheduled to hear a case contesting the legitimacy of the October military takeover. “This oath of allegiance requires judges to foreswear their independence and their allegiance to Pakistan’s Constitution. Judges who have refused should be lauded, not removed from office,” stated Varenik.

[U.S. Democratic] President [Bill] Clinton should insist that Pakistan show concrete signs of restoring the independence of judges before adding a visit to his planned trip to India and Bangladesh in March [2000]. “President Clinton should be wary of visiting as long as Pakistan’s Government undermines the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law,” stated Varenik. “A trip to Pakistan after the dismissal of these judges would put international imprimatur on the General Musharraf’s anti-democratic acts.”

Biography of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry – the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

Support the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s Revolution for Justice

PHOTOS of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Revolution for Human Rights

Mr. Syed Adeeb is Chief Editor of the Information Press – News Views Media – www.InformPress.com – USA. He is an Investigative Journalist, Human Rights Advocate and IT Consultant based in Virginia, USA. www.SyedAdeeb.net – Publication Date: Friday, 20 July 2007.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN (Original Jurisdiction)

CONSTITUTION PETITION No. 21 of 2007

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP)
Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Petitioner.

Versus

The [unconstitutional, illegal, self-appointed] President of Pakistan [General (retired) Pervez Musharraf] through the Secretary and others.
Respondents.

[Attorneys] For the Petitioner:
Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan – Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Mr. Hamid Khan – Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Mr. M. S. Khattak – Advocate on Record.
Assisted by Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Mr. Nadeem Ahmed and Mr. Shahid Saeed, Advocates.
(under special permission granted by this Court)

On Court’s Notice:
Mr. Makhdoom Ali Khan, Attorney General for Pakistan
Mr. Raja Abdul Ghafoor – Advocate on Record.
Assisted by Mr. Khurram Hashmi and Mr. Umair Majeed Malik, Advocates.
(under special permission granted by this Court)

[Devil's Advocates] For Respondent No.1:
Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Sr. ASCP
Raja Muhammad Ibrahim Satti, ASCP
Assisted by Waqar Rana, Advocate.
(under special permission granted by this Court)

[Devil's Advocates] For Respondent No. 2:
Maqbool Ellahi Malik, Sr. ASCP
Malik Muhammad Qayyum, ASCP
Shaukat Ali Mehr, ASCP
Akhtar Ali, AOR.
Assisted by Muhammad Ahmed Qayyum, Advocate.
(under special permission granted by this Court)

[Devil's Advocates] For Respondent No. 3:
Syed Zafar Abbas Naqvi, AOR.

For Respondents No. 4 & 5: Nemo.

[Devil's Advocates] For Respondent No. 6:
Aftab Iqbal Chaudhry, A.G. Punjab
Muhammad Hussain, Additional A.G.
Rao Muhammad Yousaf Khan, AOR.

Dates of Hearing: 15th to 17th, 21st to 25th, 28th to 31st May 2007. 1st, 4th to 8th, 11th to 14th, 18th to 21st, 25th to 28th June 2007. 2nd to 5th, 9th to 12th and 16th to 20th July 2007.

ORDER [of the SUPREME COURT of PAKISTAN]:

For detailed reasons to be recorded later, the following issues arising out of this petition are decided as under:

(1) Maintainability of Constitution Petition No. 21 of 2007 filed under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution:

This petition is unanimously declared to be maintainable.

(2) Validity of the Direction (the Reference) issued by the [unconstitutional] President [General (retired) Pervez Musharraf] under Article 209 (5) of the Constitution:

By a majority of 10 to 3 (Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, dissenting), the said direction (the Reference) in question, dated March 9, 2007, for separate reasons to be recorded by the Honourable Judges so desiring, is set aside.

(3) Vires of Judges (Compulsory Leave) Order being [illegal] President’s Order No. 27 of 1970 and the consequent validity of the Order, dated 15 March 2007, passed by the [self-appointed] President directing that the CJP shall be on leave:

The said [unconstitutional] President’s Order No. 27 of 1970 is unanimously declared as ultra vires of the Constitution and consequently the said Order of the [unlawful] President, dated 15 March 2007, is also unanimously declared to have been passed without lawful authority.

(4) Validity of the Order of the [self-appointed] President, dated 9 March 2007, and of the Order of the same date of the Supreme Judicial Council [SJC] restraining the CJP from acting as a Judge of the Supreme Court and/or as Chief Justice of Pakistan:

Both these orders are unanimously set aside as being illegal. However, since according to the minority view on the question of the validity of the direction (the Reference) in question, the said Reference had been competently filed by the [unconstitutional] President; therefore, this Court could pass a restraining order under Article 184 (3) read with Article 187 of the Constitution.

(5) Validity of the appointment of the Honourable Acting Chief Justices of Pakistan in view of the annulment of the two restraining orders and the [Judges] Compulsory Leave Order in respect of the CJP:

The appointments in question of the Honourable Acting Chief Justices of Pakistan [Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Rana Bhagwandas] vide notification, dated 9 March 2007, and the notification, dated 22 March 2007, are unanimously declared to have been made without lawful authority. However, this invalidity shall not affect the ordinary working of the Supreme Court or the discharge of any other constitutional and/or legal obligations by the Honourable Acting Chief Justices of Pakistan during the period in question and this declaration is so made by applying the Defacto Doctrine.

(6) Accountability of the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan:

It has never been anybody’s case before us that the Chief Justice of Pakistan was not accountable. The same issue, therefore, does not require any adjudication.

All other legal and constitutional issues raised before us shall be answered in due course through the detailed judgment/judgments to follow.

ORDER of the [SUPREME] COURT [of PAKISTAN]:

By majority of 10 to 3 (Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, dissenting), this Constitution Original Petition No. 21 of 2007 filed by Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan [CJP], is allowed; as a result whereof, the above-mentioned Direction (the Reference) of the [illegal] President, dated March 9, 2007, is set aside. As a further consequence thereof, the Petitioner, CJP, shall be deemed to be holding the said office and shall always be deemed to have been so holding the same.

The other connected petitions shall be listed before the appropriate Benches, in due course, for their disposal in accordance with law.

Signed by 13 Judges/Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan:

1. Mr. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday

2. Mr. Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi

3. Mr. Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar

4. Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan

5. Mr. Justice M. Javed Buttar

6. Mr. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani

7. Mr. Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad

8. Mr. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk

9. Mr. Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed

10. Mr. Justice Ijaz Ahmed