Islamabad October 23 2023: The Supreme Court has invalidated the trial of civilian cases in military courts, saying that civilian cases cannot be tried in military courts.
The court has also ordered to transfer the cases of all the suspects arrested in the incidents of May 9 and 10 from the military courts to the criminal courts.
A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, delivered the decision by a four-to-one majority on petitions filed against the trial of civilians in military courts.
Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mazhar Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik were the other judges of this bench.
In its decision, the court has declared Clause 21D in the Army Act to be in conflict with the Constitution. It should be remembered that under this provision of the Army Act, civilians can also be tried in military courts.
In the petitions filed in the Supreme Court against sending cases against civilians to military courts, it was said that the move to try the cases of civilians in military courts is against the constitution and should be declared null and void.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Jawad S. Khawaja was also among the mourners. A total of 13 hearings were held on these petitions, after which the court reserved its decision on the petitions on Monday afternoon.
According to the statistics presented by the Attorney General in court, cases against 102 people involved in attacks on military installations are being tried in military courts.
