ISLAMABAD - A full court of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, will hear the petitions against 21st Constitutional Amendment under which the military courts have been established.
The bench, headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, while hearing the petitions of Lahore High Court Bar Association and 10 others against constitutional amendments 18 and 21, referred the matter on February 24 to the chief justice of the Supreme Court for hearing by its full court.
The sources told The Nation that at the first stage the bench would hear 18th Amendment. The case could not be taken up last month as Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk and Justice Gulzar Ahmed suffered heart attacks while a seat of the apex court judge was vacant, which was filled by elevating Justice Maqbool Baqir.
The LHCBA filed a petition under Article 184(3), praying to the courts to strike down the 21st Amendment on a number of grounds that it undermines the independence of judiciary and its separation from the executive, besides violating the basic features of the Constitution. It also stated proceedings before the military courts take away jurisdiction of superior courts and abridge the fundamental rights of those whose cases will be put up for trial.
The federation and all the four provinces have already submitted replies and supported the establishment of military courts for the trial of terrorists.
It also states that 21st Constitutional Amendment does not impinge on the independence of judiciary and inclusion of certain laws in the First Schedule of the Constitution is no negation of its independence. “The Objectives Resolution does not constitute a ‘grundnorm’ and Article 2-A is no more supra-constitutional document,” the reply further states.