SC issues corrected judgment in Mubarak Sani case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued corrected judgment in Mubarak Sani case, holding that the court had no knowledge of ‘Tafseer-i-Sagheer’ or its author at the time of the preliminary hearing, and a mistake had occurred. The court withdrew the decisions of February 6 and July 24, 2024.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan on August 22 had issued a short order after concluding the hearing on second review petition of federal and Punjab governments, seeking amendments to the original verdict delivered on July 24.

The 10-page detailed verdict authored by Justice Isa declared that the court does not have the power of second review therefore, so the judgement being issued should not be considered as a decision on the second review.

“This decision is being given on the application for correction, after the correction of the mistakes, the same decision should be considered as the final decision of this court,” said the judgement.

The court withdrew its earlier decisions of February 6 and July 24, holding that they have no legal status. The court further held that the scholars have said that they are not satisfied with the religious aspects, especially paragraphs 7, 42 and 49 and they are of the view that theses paragraphs need to be deleted from the decision.

The court held that it did not know about “Tafseer Sagheer” or its author, so a mistake occurred.

The court held that a Muslim can be one who believes that the Holy Quran is the last revealed book of Allah and Hazrat Muhammad-ul-Rasul Allah (SAW) is the last Messenger and Prophet.

“To misrepresent its sacred figures, ‘Tafseer-i-Sagheer’ and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani have violated this principle in their books regarding both Christianity and Islam,” said the judgement.

The court held that after correcting the mistakes the current decision has replaced the decisions of February 6 and July 24, adding that now this decision is the final and definitive decision of this case.

The court, however, held that the order of February 6 will remain effective only to the extent of the bail and the trial court should continue the proceedings and decide whether the accused is guilty of the crime under these provisions or not.

The court thanked all the religious institutions, religious scholars as well as Ulema who had submitted their writing before the court, arguing and assisting it on this important issue.

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), while praising the detailed verdict of Supreme Court, congratulated the Pakistani nation and Muslim Ummah.

“We are also thankful to the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court,” party spokesperson Aslam Ghori in a statement said.

He said that the whole Muslim Ummah and leadership of political and religious parties deserve congratulations over the decision.

He maintained that the people of Pakistan and political and religious parties’ leadership were always ready to give sacrifices for guarding faith on Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (SAW), and would demonstrate same unity for the sacred cause.