SC issues notice to its registrar for declining review petition

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered its registrar to explain within 14 days under which rule he delegated his authority to a court branch to decline a petition that had sought review of the May 18, 2011 verdict which had validated the PCO of 1999 but invalided the Nov 3, 2007 oath of judges. The order came on an appeal by the federal ombudsman for the protection of women against harassment, retired Justice Yasmin Abbasey, that was taken up for hearing by Justice Nasirul Mulk in his chambers. Justice Abbasey told Dawn that after hearing her arguments, Justice Mulk issued a notice to the registrar to justify under which rule the court office had returned the review petition by raising objection that it was scandalous. She had moved the appeal on March 24, four days after it was returned by the court office. The review petition was moved by former attorney general Irfan Qadir on behalf of Justice Abbasey, requesting the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment in which it was held that since the 1999 PCO oath was validated by parliament through the 18th Amendment but no validation was granted to the appellants, including the petitioner who took the oath under the PCO issued after the imposition of Nov 3, 2007 emergency, therefore they ceased to hold the office of judges. But they failed to consider that after lifting of emergency, the petition highlighted, the petitioner and other colleagues had again taken constitutional oaths whereas former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry till his retirement had allegedly never taken constitutional oath and was working under the umbrella of the PCO of 2000 and subsequently under the protection given in the 18th Amendment. The petition recalled that after pronouncement of the July 31, 2009 judgment invalidating the emergency and sacking over 100 superior court judges, the petitioner found herself a victim of it. Therefore, she filed a review petition before the apex court in August 2009. Surprisingly, on the very first date of hearing without providing an opportunity to the parties to plead their cases, a show-cause notice of contempt of court was issued to all the affected judges which forced most of them to resign or withdraw the review petition, the petition said. Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2014