Trials in Military Courts of Civilians, Supreme Court issues written order for first hearing

Islamabad: The Supreme Court has issued the written order for the first hearing of the case against the trial of the civilian in the military courts, which includes the notes of the nominated Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

In the written order of the first hearing of the petition against the military courts in the Supreme Court on June 22, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood wrote in his note that ‘I fully agree with the note of Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, consult me ​​before forming the bench. It was not done, it is surprising that one day ago, a petitioner, Aitzaz Ahsan, met the Chief Justice of Pakistan in the chamber and the hearing of the same petitioner’s petition was scheduled for the next day.

It is written in the note that I was not even asked for my availability before the formation of the bench, the petitioner or the petitioner of a case pending for many years will also get permission to meet the Chief Justice in the chamber and fix the case? I was waiting for the Supreme Court to decide the case against the Practice and Procedure Act soon, a three-member committee has to decide the cases under Article 184 clause three under the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act.

Justice Sardar Tariq Masood wrote in the note that I am a member of the three-member committee under the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act. The Practice and Procedure Act was suspended. Appointed for those awaiting judgments in jails.

He wrote that I heard the case against 436 persons included in the Panama list because those applications have been declared admissible by a five-member larger bench. will be done.

It is written in the note that the four petitioners who approached the Supreme Court against the military courts are apparently neither in custody nor facing trial in the military courts. AF and did not attack sensitive locations, the forum for challenging a law is usually the High Court while the petitioners approach the Supreme Court directly.

The note states that the application should be decided separately after hearing each individual person. I am surprised that the nine-judge bench was constituted on the assumption that the Practice and Procedure Act should be struck down, if the Act is not struck down, the appeal of the aggrieved party would be heard by a larger bench under section five of the Practice and Procedure Act. Ga, it seems impossible to constitute a bench of at least ten members to hear the appeal against the decision of this case, in the present situation the petition filed by any aggrieved party would be inadmissible.

He wrote that I want to make it clear that I am not refusing to sit on the bench, so I did not sign the order reconstituting the bench. The case should be decided against, so I am writing my independent note.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s note is also included with the court order

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote that I am sitting in the bench with some of my reservations which I want to bring forward in the first hearing, respectfully requesting that instead of the full court in the recent past, special benches consisting of a few judges have been constituted continuously. After all, these public interest cases have profound effects on the social, political, economic lives and fundamental rights of the people.

He wrote that ‘In my opinion, the judiciary has been weakened by not constituting a full court and its decisions have become invalid. There is a need for high-level judicial scrutiny to deal with the present case and its possible implications, in cases of public interest. With the collective wisdom of all judges, better decisions can be made, which will increase public confidence in the Supreme Court.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote that ‘in my opinion, until the Supreme Court decides on the Practice and Procedure Law case, all cases under Article 184(3) should be heard by the Full Court, to protect the integrity and authority of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice Pakistan was requested to form a full court comprising all the judges present in the country.

In the note, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote that ‘I asked the Chief Justice to form a full court and let each judge decide whether he wants to hear the case or not, but the honorable Chief Justice did not accept my request, his oath. I have no choice but to sit on the bench to fulfill my constitutional responsibility and protect the constitutional rights of the people.