List of cases of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

This is an index of lists of cases decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

By Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

These lists are sorted chronologically by Chief Justice and include all notable cases decided by the court. Articles exist for almost all cases.

A Few Major Cases

Molvi Tamizuddin Khan Case

In Molvi Tamizuddin Khan case, the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Munir backed Governor General Ghulam Mohammad's action to dissolve the first Constitutional Assembly. This judgement of Supreme Court is always strongly criticized by all democratic parties of Pakistan and is referred as a root cause of unstable democracy in Pakistan.

See Doctrine of Necessity

Dosso vs Federation of Pakistan

In Dosso's case (1958), the Pakistan Supreme Court used jurist Hans Kelsen's theory that a revolution can be justified when the basic norm underlying a Constitution disappears and a new system is put in its place. When revolution came then the old system will be replaced with new system

Asma Jilani vs Government of Punjab

In the famous case of Asma Jilani, a detailed history of the Martial law in the British days has been mentioned and its comparison has been made with the past days.

FACTS: The two appeals, one filed by Miss Asma Jilani in the Punjab High Court for the release of her father Malik Ghulam Jilani, and by Mrs Zarina Gohar in the Sindh High Court for the release of her husband Althaf Gohar, under Article 98 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1962. The detention of Malik Ghulam Jilani and Althaf Gohar had been made under the Martial Law Regulation No.78 of 1971. So the detention of these persons were challenged in Lahore and Karachi High Court respect. The High Court held that it had no jurisdiction because clause 2 of the Jurisdiction of Courts(Removal of Doubts) Order No.3 of 1969 barred the courts from questioning the validity of any act done under the Martial Law Regulation No.78 of 1978. Asma Jilani appealed to Supreme Court which held that this country was not a foreign country which had been invaded by any army with General Agha Mohammad Yahya khan as its Head, nor was it an alien territory which had been occupied by the said Army. Martial Law could not have arisen in the circumstances. Pakistan had its own legal doctrine-The Qur'an, and the Objectives Resolution. Therefore, Martial law was never superior to the Constitution. Supreme Court further held that Yahya khan was neither a victor nor Pakistan was an occupied territory and thus declared him a "Usurper". All his actions were also declared illegal. When Asma Jilani's judgment was released, Yahya khan was not in power, but now it was Bhutto's Martial Law and Bhutto was the chief Martial law Administrator and the president. Asma Jilani's case paved the way for the restoration of democracy. This case was followed by the interim Constitution of 1972 and then by the permanent constitution of 1973. Due to the judicial pronouncement in the case of Asma Jilani, Bhutto was compelled to remove the Martial law.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto v. Chief of the Army Staff

On November 10, 1977 the Supreme Court unanimously validated the imposition of martial law, under the doctrine of necessity. The law of necessity recognized and upheld by Pakistan's highest judicial body has proved an honorable protection for military adventure in civil government.

Haji Saifullah vs Federation of Pakistan

In Federation of Pakistan v Saifullah Khan case, the Supreme Court, held that the dismissal of Mohammad Khan Junejo's government by General Zia in May 1988 was unconstitutional but it refused to restore the National Assembly.

Ahmed Tariq Rahim v. Federation of Pakistan

On 6 August 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, under Article 58(2)(b) of the constitution, had dissolved the National Assembly and the government of Benazir Bhutto. The said dissolution order was challenged. The Supreme Court, by majority, upheld the dissolution of the National Assembly. Reference P L D 1992 SC 646

Merham Ali vs Federation of Pakistan

During Nawaz Sharif's government, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional several anti-terrorist laws, including the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act (which established Anti-Terrorism Courts) subsequently amended in October 1998 (Merham Ali vs Federation of Pakistan);[1] and the 1998 Pakistan Armed Forces (Acting in Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance, declared "unconstitutional, without legal authority, and with no legal effect" on 22 February 1999 (Liaquat Hussain versus Federation of Pakistan).[1]

Declaring Provisional Constitutional Order (2007) Illegal

On 3 November 2007, Chief of the Army Staff declared emergency in Pakistan.[2] The emergency suspended the constitution. A seven panel bench issued a unanimous two-page order declaring the action illegal.[3] The bench consisted of:

Upholding Provisional Constitutional Order (2007)

On 24 November 2007, a seven panel bench of newly constituted supreme court, after imposition of PCO, validated the imposition of emergency and the promulgation of the Provisional Constitution Order issued by the Chief of the Army Staff.[4] The bench consisted of:

2009 PCO Judges case

Main article: PCO Judges case

On July 31, 2009, The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by former president Pervez Musharraf as illegal and unconstitutional under the Article 279 of the Constitution.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Charles H. Kennedy, The Creation and Development of Pakistan’s Anti-terrorism Regime, 1997–2002 in Religious Radicalism and Security in South Asia (Satu P. Limaye, Robert G. Wirsing, Mohan Malik, eds.), p.387-413 (a publication of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaï, Spring 2004).
  2. ↑ Musharraf Declares State of Emergency in Pakistan ABC News
  3. ↑ http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/04/top2.htm
  4. ↑ http://pakistan.rsfblog.org/archive/2007/11/24/supreme-court-of-pakistan-upholds-larger-public-interest-and.html
  5. ↑ "Court: Musharraf's 2007 rule unconstitutional". China daily. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
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