W O R L D

Full court to hear Chaudhary’s petitions
In a significant twist to the ongoing judicial crisis, the five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court on Monday restrained further proceedings in the presidential reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. It also ordered that the SC full court hear the CJ’s petitions raising vital constitutional issues related to the crisis.

China calls incursion allegation ‘groundless’
Beijing, May 8
China today dismissed as “groundless” allegations of an incursion by its troops into Arunachal Pradesh, stressing that the Sino-Indian boundary remained peaceful.

‘Spiderman 3’ breaks box office records
Silicon Valley, May 8
‘Spiderman 3’ shattered all previous US box office records, with the superhero's latest flick grossing a whopping $148 million in its opening weekend.

Personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) (right) and People Liberation Army (PLA) of China stand guard on either side of the Indo-China border Nathu La pass on Tuesday. Border trade between India and China was resumed from this year on the occasion on 'May Day'. — PTI Photo

Pool accident: Indians identified
New York, May 8
Two Indian students, whose bodies were found in a swimming pool on Sunday in Texas, have been identified by investigators, reports said today. The victims - Pravesh Kumar and Vijay Mahadevan - were both graduate students at Texas A&M University, Kingsville.

Jamali quits Foreign Affairs committee
Former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has resigned from the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs citing its failure to make any worthwhile contribution. Jamali termed the committee as an ineffective body and said he could not remain its member just to get TA/DA.

Power bills: King’s relatives owe Rs 33 million
Kathmandu, May 8
Suspended King Gyanendra and his close relatives owe the Nepal Electricity Authority over Rs 33 million in unpaid electricity bills, making them the country’s biggest defaulters, media reports said.

Full court to hear Chaudhary’s petitions
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

In a significant twist to the ongoing judicial crisis, the five-judge larger bench of the Supreme Court on Monday restrained further proceedings in the presidential reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. It also ordered that the SC full court hear the CJ’s petitions raising vital constitutional issues related to the crisis.

Justice Iftikhar’s defence counsels termed the development as a “victory” of their stance and called all bar associations in the country to suspend protest rallies and boycott of courts and instead celebrate the decision on May 9. The government too had a cause for satisfaction that the bench conceded its request to refer the petitions to the full court.

Officials here expressed considerable discomfort at the composition of the larger bench, which they said comprised junior judges with a reputation of integrity and independence.

Analysts said the Supreme Court ruling on Monday takes much of the sting out of fierce anti-Musharraf campaign by lawyers and others as the focus has now shifted to the Supreme Court on some major constitutional issues.

President Musharraf’s counsel, Sharifuddin Pirzada, declined to comment but another counsel on the government panel, Qayyum Malik, said he was “not unhappy”.

Malik said the full court would review the order restraining further proceedings in the reference for further ruling.

However, legal experts and political analysts said the defence counsels’ exaggerated exuberance was misplaced even though they had won an important point that the Supreme Judicial Council must suspend its proceedings against Justice Iftikhar till disposal of his constitutional petitions. The petitions have challenged the competence of the council to hear reference against him, the order restraining him from functioning as chief justice, that three of the five judges on the council have personal bias or conflict of interest.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz immediately called a top-level meeting to deliberate on the implications of the ruling. But a senior presidential aide said the court order provides some reprieve from the current situation that had serious political overtones and put the government on the defensive.

According to some, the President has got breathing space to review the entire issue and take measures to handle the crisis-like situation.

Legal experts feel the full court would not include three judges sitting on the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), including acting chief justice Rana Bhagwandas and justices Javed Iqbal and Abdul Hamid Dogar. Justice Sardar Raza Mohammad Khan had voluntarily opted out of the court bench on the plea that he was party to the SJC verdict restraining Chief Justice Iftikhar from functioning pending disposal of the reference. Iftikhar has also questioned the legality of the verdict.

The full court would be named by Rana Bhagwandas and is likely to comprise 12 of the 17 judges of the Supreme Court. Being the senior-most, Justice Khalil Ramday will head the Full Court.

Iftikhar’s lead counsel, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, told mediapersons that the bench had endorsed the defence contention that the reference against the chief justice was illegal and unconstitutional. He said he had himself demanded the formation of the full court to hear the constitutional petition but the government had opposed it in writing.

Aitzaz also took exception to what he described as “theatrical” outburst of a government counsel, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, when the bench began its proceedings on Monday.

Raza had adopted an aggressive tone, accusing the CJ’s defence team of politicising the case. He warned that the government team would retaliate strongly if the defence team touched political issues during the hearing of the constitutional petitions. Raza’s criminal complaint against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on the charge of complicity in the murder of his father had led Bhutto to the gallows. 

China calls incursion allegation ‘groundless’
Anil K Joseph

‘Spiderman 3’ breaks box office records

Pool accident: Indians identified

New York, May 8
Two Indian students, whose bodies were found in a swimming pool on Sunday in Texas, have been identified by investigators, reports said today. The victims - Pravesh Kumar and Vijay Mahadevan - were both graduate students at Texas A&M University, Kingsville.

The police have ruled out foul play. They said the two men had been drinking alcohol when they climbed the locked gate surrounding the pool. Kumar was looking forward to graduating in August with an MBA and Mahadevan was working on his masters in electrical engineering.

A makeshift memorial for Mahadevan and Kumar has been set up at the complex, where the students died. The university officials said a candle light vigil would be held later this week. — IANS

Jamali quits Foreign Affairs committee
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has resigned from the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs citing its failure to make any worthwhile contribution. Jamali termed the committee as an ineffective body and said he could not remain its member just to get TA/DA.

“First it was a Baloch Governor, who was removed and replaced by an outsider from the NWFP making it the only provincial governor in the present regime, who is not from the same province. Then the Baloch PM (Jamali) was forced to resign. Former Baloch Governor Akbar Bugti was killed. Now the first ever Baloch Chief Justice has been removed,” he said.

Power bills: King’s relatives owe Rs 33 million

Kathmandu, May 8
Suspended King Gyanendra and his close relatives owe the Nepal Electricity Authority over Rs 33 million in unpaid electricity bills, making them the country’s biggest defaulters, media reports said.

The unpaid arrears account for the period since the ousted monarch assumed power on February 1, 2005.

Narayanhiti Palace tops the list of defaulters with more than Rs 24.3 million in arrears, while Nagarjun palace owes Rs 2.4 million. Similarly, Nirmal Niwas, the residence of Prince Paras, has not paid over Rs 2.3 million, while Chaunni bungalow owes the state utility Rs 1.5 million.

“This makes the royals the country’s biggest domestic defaulters in electricity bills,” said an official of the electricity authority. The figure includes unpaid bills of nine residences of the royal family and royal relatives in the capital.

All of them stopped paying their electricity dues a few months after the royal takeover on February 1, 2005.

The figure, however, does not include unpaid bills of royal residences outside Kathmandu valley, such as Ratna Mandir in Pokhara and Diyalo bungalow in Bharatpur, which also stopped paying after King Gyanendra’s bloodless coup. The names of five royal relatives also appear in the NEA’s list of defaulters.

They include King Gyanendra’s aunt Helen Shah with Rs 5.51 lakh in unpaid electricity bills; the late Dhirendra Shah’s daughter Pooja Rajya Laxmi Shah with Rs 5.05 lakh; Helen Shah’s daughter Jyotsana Rajya Laxmi Devi Basnet with Rs 4.77 lakh; the late Prekshya Rajya Laxmi Shah with Rs 4.12 lakh; and Bharati Rajya Laxmi Singh with Rs 2.56 lakh. — UNI