LAHORE - Through a Constitutional petition, Supreme Court has been prayed for reinstating deposed Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to his original position of Chief Justice of Pakistan while giving seniority to incumbent in the office as it stood on November 2 last. The petition has been filed by Pakistan Lawyers Forum thorough its president, A K Dogar advocate deriving inspiration from Al-Jihad Trust case of 1996 and Rule 165 of the Pakistan Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Rules of 1970. The petitioner said the government seems biased against Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and for that reason now and then, it was floating minus-one formula while the present incumbent of the office of the ministry of law and justice has said Justice Ifikhar Chaudhry cannot come back because there cannot be two chief justices. The petitioner says the independence of judiciary is inextricably linked with the Constitutional process of appointment of judges to the Superior Judiciary. The petitioner says it is a well-known fact that Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had to leave the office three and a half years after for the reason he was not the senior most among his brother judges. It goes on to say that the government under Article 199 of the Constitution in August last notified re-appointment of deposed judge to the LHC with effect from the date they take oath of the office and these judges have to retain the original seniority position as it stood on November 2 last and shall also be entitled to pensionary benefits on the basis of their original appointment as judges of the High Court in accordance with the Constitution. The petitioner says by that notification the government has recognised the original appointment and they have been accepted as judges of the High Court in accordance with Constitution and the law as it stood on November 2. It contends the acknowledgement of the reappointment under the original constitution has as matter of fact rendered the action taken by Chief of the Army Staff (on November 3) to be of legal consequences. It says had the federal government considered that order of the then COAS constitutionally correct, it could never have accepted the original appointment and retention of the original seniority of the judges. In terms of the Article 25 of the Constitution, the petitioner says, Justice Chaudhry also needs to be treated equally so meeting his duty towards the citizens he must act as Chief Justice after he is directed by the court to come and take fresh oath under Constitution to resume his original seniority position with the pensionary benefits available to his original appointment as Chief Justice of Pakistan.