Attorney General Irfan Qadir on Monday told the Supreme Court that the alleged missing prisoners of Adiala Jail had been kept in detention in Landi Kotal Jail under the Action in Aid of Civil Power (AACP), 2007, regulation 10.
The revelation came when a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed resumed hearing in the case on Monday.
The attorney general further elaborated that the AACP gave power to certain law enforcing authorities to detain a person if there was some suspicion against him.
He said if a person felt aggrieved, the said act gave him the right to file an application after which the authorities would decide on the issue.
Qadir said he was bound by law and could not go beyond it and the constitution.
Tariq Asad, counsel for the mother of an accused, said a total five FIRs were lodged in Rawalpindi and Attock police stations against the 11 accused.
Asad informed the court that the DCO passed an order on April 8, 2010 for the detention of the said men for 30 days, which was later extended to 90 days.
He said after the judgment by the Lahore High Court on May 26, 2010 regarding the acquittal of these 11 people, their confinement was illegal and strictly against the law.
The counsel said as the people were released from Adiala Jail, they were again taken into custody and shifted to Landi Kotal Jail.
The CJ said there were many things that needed clarification and asked the petitioner to carry out his arguments as the apex court could not pass a judgment in haste.
Later, the court adjourned the hearing until February 4 upon a request by Tariq Asad for gathering some essential documents.