ISLAMABAD – A full-court reference will be held at Supreme Court on February 17 on the eve of retirement of Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, the very day he would complete the one-year tenure as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court. Ramday had retired as judge of the Supreme Court on Saturday (Jan 12, 2010) after attaining the age of superannuation, 65 years, but was appointed as an ad hoc judge on February 18, 2010 for a period of one year.
The reference, to be presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will be attended by all the judges of the Supreme Court, Attorney General of Pakistan, vice-chairman Pakistan Bar Council, president Supreme Court Bar Association and senior lawyers. Earlier, on February 16, 2010, in the backdrop of mounted tension between the apex court and the government, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had met the CJP uninvited at a farewell dinner held in the honour of Justice Ramday at the Supreme Court and the very next day, the premier and the CJP again met in Islamabad.
Soon after their meeting, Gilani had approved appointment of Justice Ramday as an ad hoc judge. Justice Ramday remained permanent judge of Supreme Court from January 2002 to Jan 12, 2010. He is widely considered to be one of the most independent minded judges and is known for outspoken and principled stance. In year 2007, he presided over a 13-member Supreme Court bench which heard a petition filed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry questioning his removal from the office by then president Pervez Musharraf and also challenging the validity of the proceedings initiated against him for his alleged misconduct.
The bench set aside the actions of Musharraf and restored the chief justice through a landmark judgment of July 20, 2007. In October 2007, Justice Ramday was included in an 11-member bench to hear a petition filed by a candidate of presidential election, Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmad challenging the eligibility of Musharraf to contest the election for the office of the President of Pakistan. On November 3, 2007, Musharraf imposed emergency and PCO in the country.
Justice Ramday, along with twelve other judges of the Supreme Court who refused to take oath under the PCO, was put under house-arrest like the chief justice and some other judges, along with the other members of his family. He was also a member of 13-judge bench, which had declared November 3, 2007 PCO and emergency as unconstitutional on July 31, 2009.
