ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: A day after the stern order in the NRO implementation case, the Supreme Court constituted a seven-judge bench to resume the hearing from Monday next.

A source privy to the development conceded to Dawn that the bench so formed would be headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk and comprised Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmedand Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed.

It is noteworthy that the chief justice is not part of this bench while five of the seven members of the new bench were part of the original bench. This is unusual to say the least.

On Jan 10, a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in a hard hitting order had referred the matter back to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry with a desirability to be heard by a larger Supreme Court bench on Jan 16 due to the importance of the case.

Not only the bench sent the case back to the chief justice, but asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to get instructions from the government and argue before the court why it should not exercise any of the six or all the options it laid out in Tuesday’s order.

The AG, Secretary Law Masood Chistie, Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari and NAB Prosecutor General K.K. Agha are required to appear in person on the next date of hearing.

The newly constituted bench will consider all the six options in detail, the language of which is not only hard hitting but it took to task the prime minister in particular by describing him prima facie as not honest and ameen.

The court had warned that it had the option of actions, including contempt of court proceedings that could attract Article 62 of the Constitution that entails disqualification.