LAHORE - Deposed judge of the Lahore High Court Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif has denied the news that he has consented to take fresh oath as a judge of the Supreme Court. Talking to The Nation, he said no one from government side has contacted him to take fresh oath as SC judge. He added that if such a situation arises he would himself make it public. Responding to a question, he said when a judge of a high court is elevated to Supreme Court, he has to take fresh oath and there is no point of reappointment in it. He, however, sidestepped the question whether he would accept such an offer or not. He said he would take a decision after having consultations with his colleagues and lawyers' leadership. He said the lawyers had rendered countless sacrifices for rule of law and independence of judiciary in the country and he would never betray them. Earlier, the different private news channels run the news that Justice Khawaja had accepted the government offer to take fresh oath as a SC judge and he would take oath in a couple of days. Justice Khawaja is the senior most among the ten judges who did not take oath under November 3 PCO. However, four of them had accepted their reappointment with original seniority while one deposed judge had retired on August 17 on attaining superannuation. The lawyers have expressed the hope that Justice Khawaja Sharif would not follow the footsteps of his other colleagues because taking fresh oath would amount to accepting November 3 unconstitutional steps as constitutional and Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar as constitutional chief justice of the country. Special Report from Islamabad adds: The government has decided to appoint three senior non-functional High Court judges in the Supreme Court whereas three other deposed judges will take their oath immediately after the swearing-in of the President. Meanwhile, the government officials have accelerated their contacts with the deposed judges. A lawyer leader of the PPP who has been very active in the re-appointment of the non-PCO judges maintained that it was a part of the government strategy not to administer oath on the senior non-functional High Court judges and to place them in the Supreme Court instead. The judges to be placed in the Supreme Court in the first stage include deposed Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Sabih-ud-Din Ahmad, Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani, two Lahore High Court judges Justice Khawaja Sharif and Justice MA Shahid Siddiqi and a Peshawar High Court judge Justice Ijaz Afzal. All these judges will be placed as junior to all the present SC judges on the seniority list. On the other side, all but one or two non-functional Supreme Court judges will be reinstated subject to administering the new oath. However, they will be reinstated in different stages. The judges who are likely to be reinstated include Justice Sardar Raza, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Raja Fayaz and Justice Ghulam Rabbani. Three of these judges including Justice Ch Ijaz will take fresh oath soon after the President has taken oath and the Supreme Court strength will rise up to 21. With the reinstatement of two judges of the Supreme Court in the third stage and appointment of five senior High Court judges, the Supreme Court strength will be complete. Meanwhile, the senior most LHC deposesd judge Mr Justice Khawaja Sharif has denied that he is going to take oath as Supreme Court judge on Monday (today). According to our special correspondent from Lahore Justice Sharif has clarified that the news regarding his reinstatement or appointment in the Supreme Court are baseless and nobody has got in touch with him in this regard. "If any such offer is made I shall decide after consulting my colleagues and the leaders of the lawyers' movement," he said.