By Sohail Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till June 7, hearing in the government’s review petition on the National Reconciliation Ordinance, annulled by the apex court on December 16, 2009, declaring it ultra vires of various provisions of the Constitution.
A 17-member full court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, adjourned the hearing after the Federation’s counsel, Kamal Azfar, sought some time for going through the documents he has received in the Swiss cases.
Kamal Azfar submitted that he has received a bulk of documents regarding the Swiss cases, which are drafted in French language, therefore, he needs some time to go through these documents, which the court accepted and adjourned the hearing till June 7.
Earlier, Advocate on Record (AOR) Raja Abdul Ghafoor sought permission of the court, stating that Masood Chisti, who had earlier filed the review petition on behalf of the government, wants to withdraw his application and now Kamal Azfar would argue in the case.
At this, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday pinpointed to the AOR to look into the legal aspect of the case in order to avoid any complication. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in his observation, said: “Don’t take it so lightly. The law is equal for all. Do you know what would be its legal and constitutional implications.”
The chief justice said if Masood Chisti withdraws his case then Kamal Azfar can’t argue as neither Kamal had drafted the petition nor his application is registered with the court. Raja Abdul Ghafoor, however, requested the court to give some time to look into the matter. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing till June 7.
It is pertinent to mention here that the government on January 17, 2010, had filed a fresh review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision, terming the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) unconstitutional.
The fresh review petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Advocate-on-Record Raja Abdul Ghafoor. He had also submitted a separate application, requesting the court to dispense with the presence of Advocate Kamal Azfar, who had represented the federal government in the NRO hearing. It was stated that Advocate Mohammad Masood Chisthi would now represent the federal government in place of Kamal Azfar. Under the Supreme Court rules, a lawyer, who had earlier represented a client in the main petition, should represent him in hearings on the review petition as well.
Wasim Sajjad, counsel for former attorney general Malik Muhammad Qayyum, also appeared before the court to argue in the review petition, filed in the apex court on the NRO judgment. The court, however, asked the learned counsel that he would be heard after hearing to the main review petition filed by the government. Former attorney general Malik Qayyum had filed a petition, seeking removal of what he termed adverse observations made against him in the short order on the NRO.
Source: The News
Date:5/25/2010
