With two judges dissenting, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench (CB) gave its go-ahead for civilians involved in the May 9, 2023 riots to be tried in military courts.
The case pertains to the military trials and the subsequent sentencing of civilians for their role in attacks on army installations during the riots that followed ex-premier Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023.
The 5-2 ruling came as the CB accepted a set of 38 intra-court appeals (ICAs) moved by the federal and provincial governments as well as Shuhada Forum Balochistan, among others, against the widely-praised October 2023 ruling that declared that trying the accused civilians in military courts violated the Constitution.
The bench — led by Justice Aminuddin Khan and also including Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal Hassan — had been reviewing whether the trial of civilians in military courts was Constitutional or not.
Justice Aminuddin announced the 10-page short order of the majority ruling. The bench also directed the government to make the necessary amendments in the PAA within 45 days to allow the convicted individuals the right to appeal their sentences before a high court.
On the other hand, Justices Mandokhail and Afghan dissented from the verdict, dismissing the appeals in a separate order and upholding the earlier ruling that declared military trials as null and void.
That Oct 23, 2023 verdict by a five-member bench — led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan and comprising Justices Munib Akhtar, Yayha Afridi, Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Ayesha A. Malik — had declared the military trials of civilians as unconstitutional by a majority of 4-1.
While the bench unanimously emphasised that the cases of the May 9 suspects will proceed before criminal courts, the majority ruling had struck down Section 2(1)d(i) and 2(1)(d)(ii) as well as Section 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.
In today’s pivotal verdict, the constitutional bench — formed under the 26th Amendment — restored those sections of the PAA.
Section 2(1)(d)(i) says that those persons not otherwise subject to PAA become subject to the law if they were accused of seducing or attempting to seduce any army officer from his duty or allegiance to the government.
