Justice Masood refuses to recuse himself from the bench despite objections on his inclusion in the bench.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Dec 13rd, 2023) In a significant development, the Supreme Court has, by a 5-1 majority, suspended its earlier ruling regarding trial of the civilians in the military courts.
This ruling on Oct 23 had declared civilian trials in military courts, specifically those related to the May 9 riots, null and void.
The decision follows the hearing of intra-court appeals lodged by the Federal and provincial governments and the defense ministry.
The six-member bench, led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, included Justices Aminuddin Khan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Irfan Saadat Khan. It is worth noting that Justice Hilali dissented from the majority decision.
The proceedings began with objections raised against Justice Masood's inclusion in the six-member bench.
Despite these objections, Justice Masood refused to recuse himself.
Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Jawwad S Khawaja filed a petition on Monday, contending that Justice Masood had already expressed his views on the matter through a written note and, therefore, should recuse himself from the bench hearing the appeals against the Supreme Court's October 23 verdict.
The October ruling had invalidated the government's decision to prosecute civilians in military courts in connection with the May 9 riots, which had erupted following the arrest of Imran Khan, the then chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The five-member apex court bench, led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, unanimously admitted the pleas on October 23. Four out of the five judges declared Section 2(1)(d) of the Army Act and 59(4) (civil offenses) as "ultra vires the Constitution and of no legal effect."
The short order issued then stated, "Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the trials of civilians and accused persons, being around 103 persons, shall be tried by criminal courts of competent jurisdiction established under the ordinary and/or special law of the land in relation to such offenses of which they may stand accused."
Subsequent to this verdict, the federal and provincial governments, along with the defense ministry, filed intra-court appeals (ICAs). Notably, the caretaker government of Sindh chose not to file any plea against the Supreme Court order.
During the recent hearing, Khawaja Haris, the counsel for the defense ministry, urged the top court to stay the military verdict until a final decision is reached on the intra-court pleas.
