The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided to hold its new inquiry into the dispute between the Constitutional Court and Cape Judge President Judge John Hlophe behind closed doors.

This means South Africa may never know the truth behind the clash that centred on Judges Hlophe's allegedly improper lobbying for President Jacob Zuma.

The JSC's original hearing into Judge Hlophe's conduct - in which six Concourt judges testified - was declared unlawful by the Johannesburg High Court as Judge Hlophe could not attend because he was ill.

Now the JSC has decided to hold a "preliminary investigation" into whether there is even a case for the judge to answer.

Sources at the State attorney's office this morning confirmed that this preliminary probe was due to start tomorrow but had been postponed.

Constitutional Court justices Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta - the judges whom Judge Hlophe is alleged to have tried to influence into making pro-Zuma decisions in matters related to the aborted corruption case against the then aspirant president - were expected to give evidence this morning, the State attorney's office confirmed.

Judge Hlophe has counter-complained that the Concourt judges treated him unfairly in the way they had made their complaint.

Judges Nkabinde, Jafta and Hlophe will be the only witnesses questioned as part of the inquiry and may not necessarily be subjected to cross-examination.

Officials declined to comment on the justices' response to the decision to hold the hearing in secret.

The JSC's Hlophe secrecy decision comes after media houses successfully applied for its first Hlophe hearing to be conducted in public.

Law expert Dario Milo today said the JSC's secrecy decision "completely undermines the principle of open justice…".

Meanwhile, Judge Hlophe has informed Justice Minister Jeff Radebe that he will return to work at the end of the month, when court recess ends.

Constitutional law professor Pierre de Vos confirmed that the only legal way he could be prevented from returning to work was for the JSC to ask President Jacob Zuma to suspend him, pending the inquiry against him.

Asked whether the JSC would call for Judge Hlophe's suspension, spokesman Mar-umo Moerane said the issue had not arisen. But that did not mean the issue could not arise.

He also dismissed as speculation a February report that indicated that the JSC would be pushing for Judge Hlophe's suspension.

Radebe's spokesman, Tlali Tlali, told the Cape Argus that the stalemate could not continue indefinitely. The minister wanted the best possible resolution to the impasse.

"We can't have it as a permanent feature of the Western Cape division," he added.