The State through Prosecutor-General, Punjab. Versus Mubarik Ahmad Sani

Criminal Review Petition No. 2 of 2024 In Criminal Petition No. 1054-L of 2023, decided on 26th February, 2024.

Result: Order Accordingly.

Summary

This matter arises from a review petition against the order dated 6 February 2024 passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a criminal case involving Mubarik Ahmad Sani. During the proceedings, applications were filed by third parties, including a political party, seeking to be arrayed as parties to the review. The core legal question concerned the mechanism for entertaining objections and seeking expert opinions regarding the interpretation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Injunctions of Islam. The Court decided to entertain all intervention applications, allowed parties to the case to raise objections to the order under review, and permitted other interested entities and individuals to submit written opinions limited to constitutional and Islamic law interpretations. Furthermore, the Court formally issued notices to several prominent religious and academic institutions—including the Council of Islamic Ideology and various Islamic seminaries and research bodies—to assist the Court on the Injunctions of Islam within a stipulated timeframe of three weeks.

Questions settled in this judgment

Whether third parties and political organizations can be permitted to submit written opinions or be arrayed as parties in a review petition involving questions of Islamic law?
Can the Supreme Court issue notices to religious and academic institutions to seek assistance regarding the Injunctions of Islam during review proceedings?

Laws & provisions referred

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

review petitionInjunctions of Islamconstitutional interpretationamicus curiaereligious institutionsSupreme Court procedure

ORDER

Notices were issued to the respondent No. 1 and the learned Attorney-General for Pakistan pursuant to the order dated 23 February 2024 and they are in attendance.

2.Learned Mr. Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has filed Criminal Misc. Application No. 241 of 2024 on behalf of a political party, Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan through its President and states that they may be arrayed as a party to these proceedings because the order dated 6 February 2024 passed by this Court requires review. We are informed that others have also submitted applications. Let all such applications be entertained by the office and put up alongwith this review petition on the next date of hearing.

3.All present agree that the parties to the case may take any objection to the order dated 6 February 2024 which is under review. However, all others, including those who want to be arrayed as parties, may file their written opinions with regard to the said order to the extent only of the interpretation of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and/or the Injunctions of Islam.

4.We also consider it appropriate to issue notices alongwith copy of the order dated 6 February 2024 to the following institutions to seek their assistance with regard to the Injunctions of Islam:

i)Council of Islamic Ideology Pakistan;

ii)Jamia Darululoom, Karachi;

iii)Jamia Imdadia, Faisalabad;

iv)Jamia Naeemia, Karachi;

v)Jamia Muhammadia Ghousia, Bhera;

vi)Jamia Salafia, Faisalabad;

vii)Jamia Tul Multazir, Lahore;

viii)Jamia Urwat-ul-Wusqa, Lahore;

ix)Quran Academy, Lahore; and

x)Al-Mawrid, Lahore.

In case anyone else wants to submit a written opinion for the guidance of this Court they may also do so. All written opinions to be submitted within three weeks from today. To be fixed thereafter.

Judges on this bench

Muhammad Ali Mazhar1,594 judgments
Qazi Faez Isa (C.J)94 judgments