Supreme Court Grants Conditional Approval for Military Court Verdicts in May 9 Riot Cases
In a significant development, the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench has granted conditional permission to military courts to announce verdicts in cases involving 85 suspects allegedly linked to the May 9, 2023, riots.
The court clarified that the military courts’ judgments would remain subject to the Supreme Court’s final ruling on the appeals challenging the legality of trying civilians in military courts. The bench emphasized that suspects eligible for clemency should be released, while those not eligible should serve their sentences in civilian prisons after conviction.
The constitutional bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, included Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal Hassan. They heard intra-court appeals filed against the military court decisions.
This follows a previous unanimous ruling by a five-member Supreme Court bench on October 23, 2023, which declared the military trials of civilians null and void. However, on December 13, 2023, a six-member bench of the apex court suspended that decision in a 5-1 split verdict. Justice Musarrat Hilali dissented from the majority opinion.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) criticized the suspension of the earlier ruling, calling the 5-1 decision a “judicial coup.”
The May 9 riots erupted nationwide following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in a corruption case. Over 100 civilians, accused of ransacking military installations during the unrest, are facing trial in military courts. The legal battle over the jurisdiction of military courts in these cases remains ongoing.
