The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan allowed the trials of civilians accused of involvement in May 9 riots in military courts on Wednesday.

The decision was announced by a majority of 5-2.  Justice Aminuddin Khan, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal Hassan formed the majority opinion.

On the other hand, Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Naeem Haider Afghan dissented with the majority opinion.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled against the trial of civilians in military courts, calling them unconstitutional and had struck down Section 2(1)d(i) and 2(1)(d)(ii) and Section 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act.

Protests had broken out across Pakistan on May 9, 2023, after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan was arrested in Islamabad. The protests had turned violent in many places, leading to attacks on several military installations including the Corps Commander House in Lahore. Several of those arrested for involvement in the protests had been handed over to military custody.