DeepanshuNew Delhi: In a judgment that challenges President Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday reinstated suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Musharraf had suspended Chaudhry in March this year for allegedly misusing his position and benefiting financially from his office.
“The reference has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated,” Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, the head of the 13-member bench, said at the conclusion of the two-month-old case.
The court also invalidated the presidential reference against Chaudhry. While the reinstatement order was unanimous, the verdict about the invalidation of the presidential reference was a 10-3 majority decision.
Chaudhry’s March 9 suspension had sparked protests by lawyers and opposition parties that grew into a powerful pro-democracy movement.
Chaudhry became a symbol of resistance to Musharraf after refusing to quit in the face of pressure from the President and his intelligence chiefs, and was lionised by supporters in rallies round the country.
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