PESHAWAR: A larger bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday outlawed show-cause notices issued by Justice Jehanzeb Rahim, a non-functional judge of the PHC, to four judges of the Supreme Court asking them to appear before him and explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them.

Justice Jehanzeb’s staff has also been withdrawn and he can no longer perform official duties.

The larger bench that outlawed his order comprised of PHC Chief Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Mohammad and Justice Badar Alam.

On January 17, Justice Jehanzeb who was made dysfunctional through an SC verdict on PCO judges, issued an order in his chamber directing Justice Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervez to appear for a preliminary hearing before him on February 21 and for explaining and justifying why a date should not be fixed for framing charges against them.

The order triggered a controversy as an SC bench comprising the said four judges had fixed February 21 for framing charges against some judges of superior courts, including Justice Jehanzeb, in a contempt of court case charging them with taking oath under the PCO despite a restraining order issued by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court on November 3, 2007.