Islamabad: The much-awaited make or break verdict on Iftikhar Chaudhry’s petition questioning his suspension as the Chief Justice by President Pervez Musharraf is due to be delivered by the Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday.
In what is billed as the mother of all cases in the history of Pakistan's judiciary, often blamed for playing a second fiddle to successive military regimes, the apex court full bench order is expected to define powers of the Army-backed President and judiciary.
The court is also likely to give its views on whether the Presidential orders against Chaudhry can come under judicial scrutiny as he was bestowed with Constitutional immunity and whether the Chief Justice could be removed unceremoniously without a notice.
It is also expected to rule on whether the five-judge Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which was looking into charges against him, had powers to conduct the proceedings.
Chaudhry's suspension also led to the lone Hindu judge of the apex court, Rana Bhagwan Das, becoming the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ). Das became the first Hindu judge to have risen to the highest judicial post in the Islamic state.
The 13-member bench appointed by Das concluded the two-month hearing in the case, which was often marred by acrimonious arguments between the prosecution and lawyers of Chaudhry who charged that Musharraf's action in filing a reference against the judge was done with malafide intention.
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