PCO contempt cases: Two SC bench members pull out

Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Raja Fayyaz, judges of the Supreme Courts larger bench, which was formed to hear the contempt cases against the PCO judges, have pulled out of the bench. The judges have referred the case to Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry to constitute a new bench for the case.It merits to mention that the larger bench, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, was to hear into the contempt cases against the PCO judges from today. The other judges comprising the bench include: Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffry and Justice Tariq Pervez. Earlier, the apex court accepted the appeal of 10 PCO judges against the contempt of court notices issued to them. The PCO judges include Justice (r) Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice (r)Iftikahr Hussain, Justice Zahid Hussain, Justice Khursheed Anwar Bhindar, Justice Hamid Ali Shah, Justice Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Justice Hasnat Ahmed Khan, Justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi, Justice Yasmin Abbasi, Justice Jehanzeb and Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain. Counsel of Justice Jahanzeb, Naeem Bukhari, while talking to media, said Justice Jahanzeb took exception to the presence of Justice Nasir and Justice Fayyaz on the bench hearing the contempt of court case, pleading that both the judges were on the bench which delivered the verdict against the PCO judges.He said no sitting judge has ever before been served the contempt notice in the history of the entire world.