ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench on Wednesday nullified the decision to declare the trial of civilians in military courts null and void.
The seven-member bench – led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and including Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal Hassan – issued the majority ruling with 5-2.
The bench has approved the intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments and others against a ruling of apex-court’s five-member bench in a case pertaining to trials and the subsequent sentencing of civilians for their involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan dissented from the seven-member bench’s majority decision.
The bench reinstated all three clauses of the Army Act: 2(1)(d), 2(d)(2), and 59(4), which were previously nullified by the top court’s five-member bench.
The matter has been referred to the government to grant the right of appeal against the decisions of military courts.
The constitutional bench has remarked that the government should legislate within 45 days regarding granting the right of appeal.
On December 13, 2024, the SC’s constitutional bench conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce reserved verdicts of 85 civilians who were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the May 9 incidents.
Subsequently, on December 21, military courts awarded sentences to 25 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years in the case. Days later, they also sentenced 60 another civilians in the same case.
