CJP constitutes bench to hear petitions against military courts

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial has constituted a nine-member bench to hear petitions against the military courts, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court (SC) fixed the initial hearings of the petitions challenging the trials of civilians in the military courts.

A nine-member bench has been constituted by the CJP Justice Umar Ata Bandial to hear the pleas. The top court will hear three petitions on Thursday (tomorrow).

CJP Justice Bandial, Justice Qazi Faez Esa, Justice Sardar Tariq, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi and Justice Ayesha Malik have been made part of the bench.

The chief justice approved the SC’s Registrar’s Office to allot numbers to the petitions. The petition filed by former CJP Jawwad S Khawaja has been allotted number 24/2023, Aitzaz Ahsan’s petition 25/2023 and Karamat Ali’s petition 26/2023.

Yesterday, former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Jawwad S Khawaja challenged the trial of civilians in military courts in the Supreme Court (SC), demanding to declare the move ‘unconstitutional’.

ex-CJP Jawwad Khawaja filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) and demanded to declare the trial of civilians in military courts ‘unconstitutional’.

The petition named the Federation of Pakistan through secretaries of law and justice, interior, defence, and chief secretaries of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan as respondents in the case.

CJP Jawwad Khawaja, in his plea, maintained that the trial of civilians by military courts in the presence of civilian ones is unconstitutional. The plea contended that proceedings of a court martial were only appropriate and lawful in the case of army officers.

The plea demanded to declare “any proceedings against civilians on the basis of the impugned sections unlawful”. It prayed the court should direct that such civilians be transferred to the competent civilian authorities for appropriate proceedings before ordinary criminal courts.

The petition came after Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan filed a similar petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the trials of civilians in military courts.