Supreme Court forms five benches for next week hearings

–SC acquits two death sentence convicts

—SC says No adjournment on any ground will be granted

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has constituted five benches to hear a number of important cases during the next week starting from October 2 (Monday).

According to the list, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Faisal Arab would hear Hanif Abbasi’s petition against Imran Khan and Jehangir Khan Tareen over offshore companies; Gerry’s International (Pvt) Ltd case against Aeroflot Russian International Airlines; educational institutions’ cases; labour cases; military estate officer vs Hafiz Muhammad Saeed; and others cases regarding land acquisition and tax matters.

The second bench comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan would hear cases, including petitions against death sentences and life imprisonment. The third bench comprised of Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Ijazul Ahsan would hear cases, including cement manufacturing companies’ petitions against enhancement in royalty rates; service matters of government employees; the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) bail matters; Doctors Hospital Pvt Ltd and others vs the government of Punjab and others; and wine shops petitions against interim order.

The fourth bench comprised of Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, while the fifth bench is comprised of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

According to case lists, no adjournment on any ground will be granted and no application for adjournment through fax will be placed before the court. Furthermore, if the lawyer is unable to appear before the court for any reason, the advocate-on-record will be required to argue the case.

SC ACQUITS TWO DEATH SENTENCE CONVICTS: On the other hand, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision to set two men free who had been charged with murdering a police officer and injuring three others.

While hearing the case, Justice Khosa observed that the police have a habit of turning personal fights into cases of violence against the police. “It is impossible to understand how two people were able to injure three officials and kill another before fleeing the scene while all four of the policemen were armed, did the police not have bullets in their weapons?”

He remarked that police have a way of settling their own scores they often create stories to hide their own wrongdoings.

The court subsequently upheld the IHC’s order to set accused Kashif and Jamshed free in the 2011 case of the police officer’s murder.