Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry became an anti-government icon for resisting his ouster, and his reinstatement has sparked speculation that opposition parties will try to lodge legal challenges against Musharraf's military rule. "We all received him at the gate and congratulated him," court spokesman Arshad Muneer told AFP.
"The chief justice shook hands with the court employees and thanked them." Muneer said Chief Justice, leading a three-judge bench, heard 10 cases fixed for Monday. These were "routine" cases pending in the court, he said. The president, who took power in a 1999 coup, suspended Chief Justice on March 9 following allegations that the judge abused his position, notably to obtain a top police job for his son and other privileges for himself.
Musharraf's action against the independent-minded judge sparked countrywide protests, becoming the biggest challenge to the general's eight-year rule with political violence in Karachi that left more than 40 dead. A suicide blast targeting a rally by the chief justice in Islamabad last week left 17 people dead.
Opponents say Musharraf suspended Chaudhry amid fears that the judge would obstruct his attempts to defy the constitution, which says he should quit as head of the army by the end of 2007. The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously declared Musharraf's suspension of chief justice as illegal, while charges of misconduct and abuse of power against the chief justice were dismissed by a split 10-3 verdict. Musharraf has said he would "honour" the verdict.