Supreme Court CB overturns penalty on ex-CJ Jawad S. Khawaja

The Supreme Court of Pakistan's constitutional bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, has rescinded the penalty imposed on former Chief Justice Jawad S. Khawaja.

The penalty, amounting to Rs 20,000, was previously imposed after Khawaja's petition regarding the military courts case was considered to be a delaying tactic, Express News reported.

During the hearing of the military courts case, the seven-member constitutional bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, rescinded the order, while Justice (R) Jawad S. Khawaja's lawyer, Khawaja Ahmed Hussain, presented his arguments.

Khawaja Ahmed Hussain stated that the country was built through the efforts of great lawyers like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and this constitutional bench is sitting under a picture of Jinnah.

He expressed concern that the judiciary had previously made decisions that harmed the nation, and he pleaded for the appeals to be rejected while maintaining the central decision. He mentioned that his client had been fined Rs 20,000, and they had filed a review against the order.

Khawaja Ahmed Hussain further requested the court to withdraw the order imposing the fine, to which Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked, suggesting that they could double the fine. However, he clarified that it was said humorously.

Khawaja Ahmed Hussain explained that the petition had become largely ineffective since the constitutional bench had already heard most of the case.

After consulting with fellow judges, Justice Aminuddin Khan informed Khawaja Ahmed Hussain that the court had decided to dispose of the matter based on the withdrawal of the review.

The constitutional bench has now reversed the order imposing the fine on former Chief Justice Jawad S. Khawaja. Khawaja had filed a separate petition seeking a stay on military court proceedings until a decision was made on the 26th Constitutional Amendment.