As the government remains defiant in the face of Supreme Court orders in a number of cases such as the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam and the Haj scam, the invocation of Article 190 of the constitution by the apex court for the implementation of its orders appears to have become imminent, with constitutional experts saying that in case the court orders the army to get its orders implemented, the army is bound to act in aid of the judiciary.
While the Supreme Court has yet not invoked Article 190, experts say if such a situation arises, the apex court will pass a formal order. Article 190 states: “All executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.” Explaining the process, former chief justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui told Pakistan Today that under Article 190 of the constitution, the Supreme Court may direct the armed forces to get its verdicts implemented in letter and spirit.
“Under the constitution, the court orders are binding for the government and it has to implement them. However, if someone feels that the court orders are incorrect, they would have to go into a review against the order. But if one does not go for a review, it means that the orders need to be implemented,” he said. Asked if former chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah’s letter to General (r) Jehangir Karamat, chief of army staff at the time, had similar reasons behind it, he said Shah had asked the army to provide security to the apex court because of a threat of attack on the court.
“He had not sought the army’s help to implement court orders,” Siddiqui said. Senator Wasim Sajjad, a constitutional expert, said according to Article 190, all agencies of the executive should act in aid of the Supreme Court. He said Shah had written a letter to General (r) Karamat under Article 190 to seek assistance, but it was forwarded to the Defence Ministry by the army chief. Sajjad said there was no mention of parliament assisting the court in Article 190.
Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood said it was beyond his imagination the way a section of the media was presenting the entire scenario. “The popular view today is that the armed forces should take over the country’s affairs (throwing away the elected government). I think these people now want martial law as calling in the army means martial law, which I cannot understand,” he said. The retired judge said Article 190 meant that the court’s decisions had to be implemented by the executive as the court had no mechanism to get its orders implemented.
Army bound to help SC if it invokes Article 190
