Appointment of ad hoc judges delayed

A meeting of the Judicial Commission held to finalise the appointment of ad hoc and acting judges for the Supreme Court was ended without any decision.The government and lawyers opposed the appointment of ad hoc and acting judges to hear Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s appeal in the contempt of court verdict.Earlier, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said that three judges who were part of the bench that heard the contempt case against the prime minister would not be available if a review petition came up. Therefore two ad hoc judges and an additional judge would have to be appointed in the apex court to ensure that a nine-member bench will hear the appeal, he added.The Pakistan Bar Council and other lawyers had also opposed to the move.