Islamabad (Web Desk): The Supreme Court (SC) On Thursday directed the counsel for the Ministry of Defense to provide the complete record of civilians trials conducted in military courts enabling the Constitutional Bench of the top court to determine whether the trials were conducted in accordance with the fair trial standards required by Article 10-A of the Constitution.
The seven-judge bench, headed by Justice Amin ud Din Khan, heard the appeals against the trials of civilians under Army Act.
Representing the Ministry of Defense, Advocate Khwaja Haris argued that if the court were to uphold the validity of sections D-1 and D-2 of the Army Act, then all petitions challenging these trials would be deemed invalid and outside the court's jurisdiction.
He asserted that the military courts followed all legal procedures to ensure a fair trial for civilians.
Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi remarked that the court had previously asked for the record of trials in military courts, which had yet to be provided.
In response, Advocate Haris assured the court that the record of one trial would be submitted to demonstrate that the fair trial requirements had been met. However, he also maintained that the high court and the SC can’t examine the evidence on merit as the petitions are out of the jurisdiction under Article 8(3) and 8(5) of the Constitution.
Haris also noted that while the concept of a fair trial had always existed, the inclusion of Article 10 in 2010 explicitly guaranteed the right to a fair trial in the Constitution.
The court had previously directed the counsel of the defence ministry to conclude arguments by the previous Monday.
However, on Thursday, Haris requested additional time, expressing that he will try to conclude his arguments by tomorrow.
Later, the court adjourned the hearing till Friday.
