Out of jurisdiction: SHC calls jail roll of three court-martialed civilians

A division bench directed the standing counsel to submit such documents by June 18.

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the standing counsel for the federal government to furnish the jail roll of three civilians languishing in prisons at Karachi and Hyderabad after they were convicted by the military court under the Official Secret Act.

On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar directed the standing counsel to submit such documents by June 18. The court was hearing four identical constitutional petitions seeking the recovery of four men, Wassayo, Mohammad Bux, Habibullah and Roshandin, from the alleged illegal detention of law enforcement agencies.

During the hearings, however, an assistant judge advocate-general informed the judges that the four men had been tried by the military courts under the Official Secret Act and had subsequently been convicted. The bench directed the standing counsel to call jail rolls of the prisoners by June 18.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2014.