The six-member larger bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case pertaining to trials of civilians in military courts dissolved on Monday.
Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, presiding the bench hearing intra-court appeals against the decision declaring military courts unconstitutional, recused himself.
As the hearing commenced today, Justice Masood said he would hear the objections against the bench first. Former CJP Jawad S Khawaja’s counsel objected to the bench and said the matter should be sent to the Judges Committee for the reconstitution of the bench.
When counsel Hamid Khan of the Lahore Bar tried to present his arguments, Justice Masood remarked that arguments should not be presented in the case if the case should not be heard by the current bench.
The court then referred the matter to the Practice and Procedure Committee for the reconstitution of the bench and stated that the order to continue the trial of civilians in military courts remains in effect.
Earlier in December, the apex court conditionally suspended its prior decision to invalidate military trials for 103 civilians till a final judgment on the matter.
Read Military trial of civilians gets SC’s nod
The top court stated that the ongoing military trials of the civilians, accused of involvement in attacks on army installations during the unrest following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9, would proceed. The court declared that the final decision of the trial in the military courts would be subject to the final ruling.
The majority 5-1 verdict, reached by a six-member bench, stems from a series of intra-court appeals (ICAs), contesting the previous unanimous ruling nullifying the military trials, filed by the caretaker federal government and the provincial governments of Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The Sindh government abstained from filing a plea.
The bench was led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprised Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.
