DNA - World - Bhagwan Das sworn in acting CJ of Pakistan - Daily News & Analysis

DNA - World - Bhagwan Das sworn in acting CJ of Pakistan - Daily News & Analysis

Bhagwan Das sworn in acting CJ of Pakistan
Amir Mir
Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:35 IST




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KARACHI: Justice Rana Bhagwandas, the twentieth acting chief justice of the Supreme Court and the second non-Muslim to make it to the highest judicial office of Pakistan, assumed the coveted slot on Saturday amidst a brewing judicial crisis in wake of the March 9 suspension of the apex court chief justice, Iftikar Chaudhry by General Pervez Musharraf.

Never before was the return of any superior court judge from abroad so eagerly awaited as the return of Justice Bhagwandas amid a judicial crisis striking every corner of Pakistan. Born on December 20, 1942 in Naseerabad in district Larkana of Sindh, Rana Bhagwandas is third among four brothers, one of whom, Rana Srichand, died a couple of years ago in a road accident in Karachi.

Two sons of Bhagwandas are settled in the United States, while a married daughter resides in Hyderabad, Sindh. His family still lives at Sheikh Kalyandas Haveli near Sheikh Mohalla in Naseerabad, Larkana, which is the home town of Pakistan’s first elected Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Despite opposition by the PPP leaders from Sindh, he was elevated as judge of the Sindh High Court by the government of Benazir Bhutto on June 6, 1994 and then elevated as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on February 4, 2000. Despite being a non-Muslim, Justice Bhagwandas has done Masters in the subject of Islamic Studies after completing his LLB and LLM.

Bhagwandas is known for his impeccable credentials as a judge who rarely speaks out of court. And when he does, he does it very briefly. Since March 9 when the reference was filed against the chief justice till March 23, when he flew back into Pakistan, Justice Rana Bhagwandas did not utter a word on the development, as he was busy on a pilgrimage in India.