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This is a special sub-page of the main article on Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry , Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2007, regarding his suspension from and reinstatement to the Court. For more context or a simple overview, see the main article. CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES TO SUSPENSION Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was made a "non functional Chief Justice" on March 9, 2007, when President Pervez Musharraf invoked the following two main clauses of the Constitution of Pakistan: Article 180 ''Acting Chief Justice.'' At any time when- (a) the office of Chief Justice of Pakistan is vacant; or (b) the Chief Justice of Pakistan is absent or is unable to perform the functions of his office due to any other cause, the President shall appoint [the most senior of the other Judges of the Supreme Court to act as Chief Justice of Pakistan. {Link without Title} Article 209 ''Supreme Judicial Council.'' (1) There shall be a Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan, in this Chapter referred to as the Council. (2) The Council shall consist of, (a) the Chief Justice of Pakistan; (b) the two next most senior Judges of the Supreme Court; and (c) the two most senior Chief Justices of High Courts. Explanation:- For the purpose of this clause, the inter se seniority of the Chief Justices of the High Courts shall be determined with reference to their dates of appointment as Chief Justice [otherwise than as acting Chief Justice , and in case the dates of such appointment are the same, with reference to their dates of appointment as Judges of any of the High Courts. (3) If at any time the Council is inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a Judge who is a member of the Council, or a member of the Council is absent or is unable to act due to illness or any other cause, then (a) if such member is a Judge of the Supreme Court, the Judge of the Supreme Court who is next in seniority below the Judges referred to in paragraph (b) of clause (2), and (b) if such member is the Chief Justice of a High Court; the Chief Justice of another High Court who is next in seniority amongst the Chief Justices of the remaining High Courts, shall act as a member of the Council in his place. (4) If, upon any matter inquired into by the Council, there is a difference of opinion amongst its members, the opinion of the majority shall prevail, and the report of the Council to the President shall be expressed in terms of the view of the majority. (5) If, on information [from any source, the Council or the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court, (a) may be incapable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity; or (b) may have been guilty of misconduct, the President shall direct the Council to [, or the Council may, on its own motion, inquire into the matter. (6) If, after inquiring into the matter, the Council reports to the President that it is of the opinion, (a) that the Judge is incapable of performing the duties of his office or has been guilty of misconduct, and (b) that he should be removed from office, the President may remove the Judge from office. (7) A Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall not be removed from office except as provided by this Article. (8) The Council shall issue a code of conduct to be observed by Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts. {Link without Title} However, its still unclear whether a justice of the highest court of the country can be made ''"non-functional"'' in view of Article 180 and Article 209 of the Constitution of Pakistan. TIMELINE MARCH, 2007 March 9-12, 2007 President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf on March 9 , 2007 virtually suspended the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, and appointed the next most senior judge available, Justice Javaid Iqbal , as the acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Later it was explained that the senior-most judge after the Chief Justice was Justice Rana Bhagwandas , but since he was away from the country, Justice Javed Iqbal being the second in line was made the acting head of the apex court until Justice Bhagwandas would return. The move to make Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ‘non functional’ was immediately followed by yet another decision by the president to send a reference under Article 209 of the Constitution Of Pakistan to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to investigate allegations of misconduct against him. Justice Chaudhry was called on by the President at his Army residence in for speedy appointment of the Acting-Chief Justice. According to further reports he was only allowed to leave when the Acting-Chief Justice had taken oath of office and proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council had begun. According to legal analysts, the procedure adopted by the President is not only unjust and inappropriate but also unconstitutional and therefore illegal. The president’s orders came in the afternoon, and within minutes took the country by storm. Many in the legal fraternity were shocked by the way the country’s top adjudicator had been treated. Within hours, public in general and lawyers specifically rallied around him. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's reaction was not known as since his "suspension" or being made "non-functional" he had remained incommunicado. After his meeting with President Musharraf, he remained inside the presidential office for a few hours, and was later prevented from going to the Supreme Court by the security officials. He was later placed under unofficial house arrest and media or anyone from the outside world was not allowed to approach him. Soon after the oath taking ceremony, the SJC went into a session and decided to call on Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on 13 March to answer the allegations of misconduct leveled against him. Presided over by Acting Chief Justice Javed Iqbal, the SJC also ordered the Chief Justice not to perform functions as judge of the Supreme Court or as the Chief Justice until the reference was decided on by the council. The SJC meeting was also attended by apex court judges namely Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan , Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry and Chief Justice Sindh High Court Sabihuddin Ahmad , who had flown into Islamabad earlier in the day. According to the Advocate General Of Sindh , Justice Chaudhry is still the Chief Justice of Pakistan, and should be allowed to exercise all due privileges. However, the flags of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Supreme Court have been removed from his home and his name and references were initially removed from the website of the Supreme Court Of Pakistan ; but were restored 24 hours later. The reason presented by the Officials of Supreme Court for the removal of the information from the website was that it happened due to some technical errors. According to BBC Urdu and The News (Pakistani newspaper), the supreme judicial council planned to look into the inquiry against Justice Chaudhry. Out of the three Judges of the council there are corruption cases already pending against two judges (one for financial corruption and the other for a case related to fraud in land) and the third Judge allegedly had his daughter admitted to a medical college on the recommendations of the Chief Minister of a province of Pakistan. BBC-Urdu On 12 March 2007 , lawyers across Pakistan began boycotting all court procedures in protest against the suspension. In the capital Islamabad, and in other cities such as Lahore , Karachi and Quetta , hundreds of lawyers dressed in black suits attended rallies, condemning the suspension as unconstitutional. More than twenty lawyers were injured in clashes with police during the demonstrations in Lahore . Lawyers protest against Musharraf , BBC, Monday, 12 March 2007, 11:40 GMT . March 13, 2007 (First Hearing) On 13 March 2007 , Justice Chaudhry appeared before a closed hearing with the SJC. (Video is available below, Audio & Video section). The hearing lasted for two hours and was adjourned until Friday 16 March . Justice Chaudhry issued a four-page press release denouncing the moves against him, Full text of CJP's statement before SJC , ''The Nation, Pakistan'' saying that neither President Musharraf nor the SJC had the authority to prevent him from working. He also reported that his telephones at home had been disconnected and vehicles confiscated. Pakistan panel quizzes top judge , BBC, Tuesday, 13 March 2007, 13:26 GMT. March 16, 2007 CJP Justice Iftikhar requested that because his lawyers were not allowed to meet him by the government, the hearing should be adjourned till 26 March 2007. SJC did not entertain it and the next date of hearing was announced in a press release to be 21 March 2007 at one end all this was going on and at the other end the government attacked a popular tv channel "GEO" in islamabad to turn attentions of people. March 19, 2007 charges leaked Full text of the reference against CJP Justice Chaudhry was leaked to the press on 19 March 2007. BBC published these charges on its URDU website The main charges against CJP Justice Chaudhry are as following.
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