Military trial venue irrelevant as long as punishment is served: Justice Mandokhail

A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, on Tuesday reumed the hearing over the appeals filed against the military court trials of civilians following the May 9 violence.

During the hearing Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail questioned the significance of trial jurisdiction, saying, “What difference does it make whether the trial happens here or there?”

Advocate Faisal Siddiqi, representing civil society petitioners, argued there is a stark difference between civilian and military trials, stating, “One trial is independent, the other is in the military.” He informed the court that out of 105 suspects, 20 had been released, while 66 remained in custody.

The additional attorney general confirmed the figures, adding that 19 more suspects were recently freed.

Petitioners contend that trying civilians in military courts violates constitutional guarantees of a fair trial.

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.

Previously, Justice Mandokhail said on Wednesday that all five judges of the Supreme Court were unanimous in their decision that civilians cannot be tried in military courts.

He made these remarks during last week’s hearing of an intra-court appeal challenging the trial of civilians in military courts. Justice Mandokhail is part of a seven-member constitutional bench overseeing the appeal, which also includes Justices Amin-ud-din Khan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Shahid Bilal Hassan.

During the proceedings, Advocate Faisal Siddiqui argued that there had been three separate decisions by a five-member bench regarding military courts.

He pointed out that Justices Ayesha Malik, Muneeb Akhtar, and Yahya Afridi had written individual decisions, but all judges agreed on the core observations. Siddiqui emphasized that when judges’ decisions align but their reasoning differs, all the reasons are considered part of the overall decision.

However, he maintained that all justices were in agreement on the key issue that civilians should not be tried under military jurisdiction.