ISLAMABAD Advisor to PM on Legal Affairs, Sardar Latif Khosa, Wednesday questioned the propriety of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry being part of a three-member apex courts bench hearing a bribe case against him. During the course of hearing, the recently sacked Attorney General also accused the Chief Justice of being responsible for his removal. You are the one, who insulted me in the Punjab Bar Council meeting held at Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore sometimes back, a furious Khosa said, so you caused my removal, he explained. To Khosas allegations, Chief Justice responded, Be in limits, just reply the allegations being levelled against you in an affidavit attached with a review filed by a sacked NWFP government employee. It was not me, the federal government sacked you so you should better ask them. The CJ could have called me to his chamber and discussed the whole affair, Khosa further remarked adding that his case should not be heard in the presence of Chief Justice. If the court continued such practice against members of legal fraternity, neither any judge nor legal practitioner would be able to discharge his/her duties, Khosa said. It is pertinent to mention here that the Chief Justice had stopped the former AGP directing him not to go beyond the rules and regulations of the court. It was a serious issue. Supreme Court judges are being involved now. You must read this notice before discussing your personal grudge with some one, the chief justice stressed. Dont you want that a common man plea should be heard in the courts, Chief Justice Iftikhar asked Khosa. You are a Punjabi Baloch and the petitioner is a Peshawar-based citizen so it is not a matter of personal grudge he maintained to a question raised by the respondent. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja during the hearing lamented finger-pointing by Khosas and his accusations against the Chief Justice. You (Khosa) asked the petitioner that the required Rs 30 million were distributed among judges, he explained. If the petitioner fails to prove this, he will go to jail. If you fail to satisfy the court, you will face justice. There is no need to be worried. Prepare a comprehensive reply in accordance with the allegations, Justice Jawwad further said. Asking for action against President Supreme Court Bar Association, Ali Ahmed Kurd, who called the judges, Pharaohs sitting in the apex court, Khosa said that he would prove himself innocent before the court. As exchange of harsh words undermined the respect of the court, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice directed Latif Khosa to submit a detailed version to plead his innocence within two weeks. The court also issued notices to Umer Daraz, Assistant (munshi) of Latif Khosa, Deputy Attorney General Dil Muhammad Alizai and Mian Tariq Advocate. Iftikhar Gilani Advocate also appeared on behalf of the petitioner Maghfoor before the court. Later, talking to media, Advisor to Prime Minister categorically rejected the charges and raised objection to presence of Chief Justice as head of the three-member bench. Since, I assumed the new office, invisible hands have started vilification campaign against me, he said, adding the petition under review by the SC was one such attempt. To a question, Khosa said there were different stories circulating in media with regard to corruption, nepotism, malpractice and other charges against him. While talking to TheNation senior lawyers opined that the Supreme Court should forward such issues to those who were directly involved with them, for instance Supreme Court Bar Association. They believed that accusations were of such nature that they should be investigated independently. They termed the issue legitimate. It is also pertinent to mention here the Supreme Court Friday issued a notice to Latif Khosa directing him to submit his reply in response to a complaint by a sacked officer till October 21. Petitioner Hamid Maghfoor, who was punished by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on taking bribe and misuse of office alleged in his complaint that the former attorney general had taken Rs 3 million from him on the condition that his case would be fixed in the court of Justice Javed Iqbal.