Supreme Court to hear review pleas on 30th

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has directed the fixture branch of apex court to fix the review appeals against the disqualification of Sharif brothers on March 30, an official source said on Tuesday. The source desiring not to be named also stated that a larger bench of apex court was likely to be formed for adjudicating upon this case of vital constitutional and political importance. Chief Justice of Pakistan is expected to name the judges of the larger bench for hearing of these review appeals on Saturday while finalizing the cause list for next week, the official source further added. A three-judge bench of apex court headed by Justice Moosa K Leghari had disqualified both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif on February 25 from holding any public office. The PML-N Government in Punjab was dislodged as a result of the court ruling and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had to step down after the adverse judgement. Governor's Rule was also imposed in the Province as a consequence of the same judgement handed down by the court on a number of appeals filed by the Federal Government and others in support of Sharif brothers. Sharifs did not appear before the court as a protest against the judges who had taken oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) of Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007. In the detailed judgement, both the PML-N kingpins were judged guilty of trying to disgrace the top judiciary besides being ineligible to hold a public office as being previously convicted and loan defaulters. However, the Federal Government through separate review appeals has again challenged the judgement against Sharifs. The appellant has also sought a stay order against the impugned order besides seeking an early hearing. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had pledged to fight the case of Sharifs while announcing the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other independent minded judges on March 16. After the restoration of independent judges, Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Iqbal, proposers and seconder of Sharif brothers have also filed their appeals against the disqualification of PML-N leaders. These appeals have reached the Advocate on Record and will be filed in the court today.

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