Islamabad: The sacked Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, Iftikar Muhammad Chaudhry, has refused to submit his resignation and decided to defend himself before a panel of top judges. The judges are likely to meet next week to hear his case.
"I will never resign voluntarily. I have done nothing wrong," Chaudhry responded when he was contacted on phone by Munir A Malik, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, on Saturday.
The Supreme Judicial Council will meet on March 13 to hear the allegations levelled against Chaudhry, even as the government warned lawyers of severe action if they laid siege to the meeting.
The Pakistani lawyers have announced a boycott of the courts in a protest over the effective suspension of the country's top judge pending an inquiry into what state media said were accusations of misconduct and misuse of authority.
The government said on Friday a Supreme Judicial Council would hold an inquiry into the "numerous complaints and serious allegations" against Justice Chaudhary.
Chaudhry told Malik that he would contest the charges of corruption and misuse of authority levelled by President Pervez Musharraf, who removed him from his post on March 9.
Mallik contacted Chaudhry over phone as the media and the lawyers were prevented from meeting him at his official residence, which was surrounded by a huge posse of police personnel. Mallik offered him the support of the legal fraternity, including the SCBA.
Malik told reporters it appeared that the suspended Chief Justice was not a free man and was being pressurised to resign. The Pakistan Bar Council on Sunday described the action to prevent the public from meeting Chaudhry as a case of 'illegal house arrest'.
"He is in illegal detention," vice-chairman of the PBC, Ali Ahmed Kurd, said. "There is no other way to describe the situation as no one is being allowed to meet him," he added.
Comments
0 comment