The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing in a case filed against the trial of civilians in military courts on Monday. The case will now be heard on July 11.

A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, heard the petitions challenging the verdict that declared the trial of civilians in special courts as invalid.

The bench includes Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Wahid, Justice Irfan Sadat, and Justice Shahid Bilal.

The bench ordered the government to ensure that families are eable to meet their relatives in military custody.

The bench also accepted a request by the Lahore Bar Association to become a party in the case.

A five-member larger bench had earlier, on October 23, 2023, declared the trial of 102 civilians involved in the May 9 incidents in military courts as invalid.

The Supreme Court had ruled that all trials of the accused in the May 9 and 10 incidents should be held in the relevant criminal courts and that any trials of civilians in military courts would have no legal standing.

The decision was made by a 3-2 majority, with Justice Yahya Afridi dissenting from the majority opinion.

In response, 17 appeals were filed by the caretaker federal government, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Law, caretaker governments of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

On November 17, the caretaker federal government and the Ministry of Defense challenged the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate the trials of civilians in military courts.

The appeals argued that the decision to not hold trials of accused involved in attacks on army installations in military courts should be declared void.

The inter-court appeals contended that the 5-member bench of the Supreme Court had heard petitions that were not maintainable, and that declaring the provisions of the Army Act and Official Secrets Act as void would cause irreparable damage to the country.

The governments of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had also challenged the decision to hold trials of civilians in military courts. The request argued that the decision to not try the accused of attacks on army installations in military courts should be declared unconstitutional.

Later on November 21, the caretaker government of Punjab also challenged the decision to hold trials in military courts, declaring it against the constitution.

On December 9, the hearing for the intra-court appeals against declaring the trials of civilians in military courts as unconstitutional was scheduled for December 13 in the Supreme Court.

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After the May 9 incidents, the government decided to pursue cases against those who caused damage to military installations through military courts, and multiple individuals’ cases have already been referred to military courts.

Before this decision, during a conference of formation commanders led by Army Chief General Asim Munir, there was an expression of determination to bring those involved in the May 9 incidents and their facilitators and masterminds to account.

Former Chief Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, Karamat Ali, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had challenged civilian trials in military courts.