Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was reinstated by the Supreme Court, after he was suspended by President Pervez Musharraf on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Musharraf’s decision was taken on March 9 after Chaudhry was accused of "misconduct and misuse of authority,”

The allegations were annulled by the Supreme Court, which ruled that President Pervez Musharraf had no authority to suspend Pakistan's top judge

Announcing the decision, Justice Kalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, who was heading a 13-member bench adjudicating in the case, said the chief justice had been reinstated from March 9. Ten of the total 13 judges favoured quashing of charges against the top judge.

Hundreds of lawyers and political workers celebrated the verdict outside the court with slogans "go Musharraf go."

"We congratulate the entire nation over the historical decision, which was made possible by the resolve and determination of the chief justice," Chaudhry's counsel Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters. "The expulsion would lead to expulsion of military from the politics."

After the Supreme Court decision was announced, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government accepted the verdict and this was not the time “to claim victory or defeat.”

“I have always maintained that the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court must be accepted by all sections of the people, including the government itself,” he said in a statement.

The removal of Chaudhry ignited countrywide protests by the lawyers and political workers, posing the biggest challenge to Musharraf since he took over in a military coup in 1999.

The opposition had been claiming that the president ousted Chaudhry in a bid to end any judicial hindrance to his expected five-year re-election by the present parliament in next few months.