CB keeps bar on military verdicts

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday rejected the government's request to allow military courts to announce verdicts in trials related to the May 9 attacks on state institutions last year.

The seven-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard petitions challenging the trial of civilians in military courts.

During the hearing, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail urged lawyers to assist the bench in concluding the case efficiently.

Arguing in the court, the lawyer for the defence ministry, Khawaja Haris, said that it was wrong to assert that civilians could not be tried in military courts. He added that the Army Act was also applicable to employees of private companies working with the armed forces.

Justice Mandokhail remarked that those were a distinct category of civilians, such as those who worked in ordnance factories etc. However, Khawaja Haris argued that the Army Act talked about the category of civilians.

Justice Musarrat Hilali said that when a corps commander used his house as office, could they declare it as such? Haris refrained from addressing the matter.

Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan asked whether the anti-terrorism courts gave reasons for handing the accused over to the military.

Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi made reference to the trial of the attackers involved in the assault on the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar in 2014. Khawaja Haris, the defence ministry's lawyer, replied that the 21st Constitutional Amendment was passed for the trials.

Justice Hilali, while talking to Hafizullah Niazi, father of accused Hasaan Niazi, asked about his meetings with his son. On that Niazi replied in the affirmative, but added that they felt like being held hostage because of the Supreme Court decision.

Niazi said that if the decisions by the military courts were pronounced, they could file appeal in the high court. However, Justice Aminuddin Khan stopped him from speaking further, asking him not to speak on that topic in the court.

During the hearing, the additional attorney general requested the bench that the trials in the military courts had been completed, therefore, permission should be given to the courts to pronounce their verdicts.

However, Justice Hilali said that the bench could not do this. She added that if the permission was granted, then the question concerning the authority of the military courts to try civilians would be resolved. The court adjourned the hearing till Tuesday (today).

The bench dismissed an application of former chief justice Jawad S Khawaja and imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on him. Khawaja had requested for stopping the hearing of the case until the decision on petition against the 26th Constitutional Amendment.