ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has fixed Aug 22 for hearing the Punjab government’s urgent application seeking omissions of certain portions from the verdict in the Mubarak Ahmad Sani case which was announced on July 24.

Filed through the prosecutor general of Punjab on Saturday, the application was instantaneously fixed for hearing before a three-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

According to the application, some leading clerics and members of parliament have requested the federal government to approach the apex court and highlight some portions of the judgement, which merit correction.

The three-page application mentions that paragraph 49 needs omission and correction since the July 24 judgement had held that the verdict of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) in the 1985 case of Mujib-ur-Rehman versus government of Pakistan, and the Supreme Court’s 1993 verdict in Zaheer-ud-Din versus the State case were binding precedents and that the apex court has not deviated from these binding precedents in its Feb 6 judgement.

Three-member bench headed by CJP will take up the matter on Aug 22

The application explains that some observations and findings contained in some other paragraphs of the judgement appeared to be an accidental error being contrary to the precedents as mentioned by the top court.

Thus such portions of the judgement in the review petition merit correction.

The application by Punjab’s prosecutor general was moved under Section 561A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) 1898 read with order 33 Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 and Sections 152 and 153 of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and other enabling provisions of law for amendment to the July 24 judgement.

The religious scholars, who requested the federal government for approaching the apex court, are Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani of Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, Mufti Munibur Rehman of Darul Uloom Naeemia Karachi, Maulana Zahidur Rashdi from Gujranwala, Mufti Sher Muhammad Khan from Bhera, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Jamaat-i-Islami emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Jamiat Ahl-i- Hadith Pakistan emir Prof Sajid Mir, Maulana Anwarul Haq of Darul Uloom Haqqania Akora Khattak, Chief Khatib KP Maulana Tayyab Qureshi, Syed Jawwad Ali Naqvi of Jamia Arwatul Wasqa Lahore, Sahibzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair of the Milli Yakjehti Council and Maulana Muhammad Ijaz Mustafa, emir, Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-i-Nubuwat Karachi.

In its Aug 17 judgement, the Supreme Court had accepted a previous Punjab government’s plea to revisit its Feb 6 order in the Mubarak Ahmad Sani case and declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as ensured by the Constitution, was subject to the law, morality and public order.

The judgement had emphasised that complete faith in the finality of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was the very foundation of Islam — a belief without which nobody can be described as a Muslim.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024