ISLAMABAD: As a six-judge Supreme Court bench resumes the hearing of a set of intra-court appeals (ICA) in the case of civilians’ military trial today, a petition has been filed in the apex court seeking to restrain federal and provincial governments from engaging a private counsel to plead the matter.
The application, moved through senior counsel Faisal Siddiqui on behalf of some respondents, urges the court to issue directions that only the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) should plead the case. The six-judge bench, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and including Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, will be addressing the intra-court appeals.
On December 13, 2023, the Supreme Court, by a majority of five to one, suspended the short order of October 23, which declared as unconstitutional the trial of 103 civilians allegedly involved in the May 9 violence.
The plea against hiring private counsel argues that the AGP office filed five ICAs on behalf of the federal government, but the ministries of defense, interior, and the Balochistan government engaged private counsel to represent them during the appeals. The application contends that this action is against the binding directions laid down by the Supreme Court.
Referring to the 2017 Rasheed Ahmad case, the plea notes the circumstances in which the government can engage private counsel. It emphasizes that the engagement of private counsel should only be sanctioned for compelling reasons and in the public interest, not to protect or save a particular individual or for any other ‘ulterior motives.’
The petition highlights that neither the federal nor the Balochistan governments provided a certificate or approval to demonstrate that a private counsel was necessary, as the AGP and other law officers in his office were allegedly incapable of attending to the case. Therefore, without such certification or approval, the petitioners argue that no private counsel should appear or argue on behalf of the federal and provincial governments.
