Executive officers clipped of judicial powers

“Paragraph 5(e) 7, 19 (2) Schedule III and other relevant paras in respect of function of Executive Magistrate of Shariah Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2009 (NWFP Regulation No. 1 of 2009) notification SO(FATA)/HD/160-NAR/09 dated 02.10.2009 and other notifications entrusting the Executive Officers with Judicial powers of any nature are hereby struck down being ultra vires of the Constitution as (it) violates the requirement of Constitution and relevant trite law.” It added that any rule, notification or order issued declaring or appointing any person as executive magistrate and authorizing such persons to exercise powers to conducts trials and any other powers are also declared as void. However, convictions made and proceeding conducted by the executive magistrates are hereby saved and protected under the doctrine of past and closed transaction. Consequently all pending proceedings before the aforementioned invalidated executive magistrates are to be transferred to the concerned judicial magistrates or to the sessions judges (zila Qaziz). Whereas the PAS and PMS incumbents in Chitral are performing functions as assigned to them, in consequence of the PHC ruling, no longer competent to run the proceedings as executive magistrates in pending criminal cases pending before them. “Accordingly, it is ordered that all criminal proceedings pending before the defunct executive magistrates in District Chitral stand withdrawn from them with immediate effect and in turn trusted to judicial magistrates at headquarters Chitral, Booni and Drosh as the case may be.” it added. ]]>