Falak Sher (justice) Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, by virtue of being the longest serving justice on the Supreme Court bench at the time, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was appointed as next Chief Justice. Justice Iftikhar was appointed a justice of High Court of Balochistan in 1999 and was elevated to Supreme Court on 4 February 2000. Justice Sher maintained that he was senior to Justice Chaudhry based on their respective elevation to High Courts and should be appointed as Chief Justice of Pakistan. On appointment of Justice Chaudhry as Chief Justice, he petitioned the President of Pakistan on that account for which no
Suspension of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry by the President is not only unjust and inappropriate but also unconstitutional and therefore illegal. The president's orders came in the afternoon, and within minutes took the country by storm. Many in the legal fraternity were shocked by the way the country's top adjudicator had been treated. Within hours, public in general and lawyers specifically rallied around him. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's reaction was not known as since his "suspension" or being made "non-functional" he had remained incommunicado. After his meeting with President Musharraf, he remained inside the presidential office for a few hours, and was later prevented from going