Anti-Terrorism Courts
Governing law: Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997
Bail, trial and appeal under the Anti-Terrorism Act, applications to transfer cases out of the ATC where the terrorism sections do not apply, and appeals before the High Court.
Defence before the Anti-Terrorism Courts
Bail, trial and appeal under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, applications to delete terrorism sections and transfer cases to the ordinary courts, and appeals before the Lahore High Court.
Overview
Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act is added to FIRs far more often than the facts support it. A private quarrel, a property dispute that turned violent, a protest: once the section is on the FIR, bail becomes harder, the trial moves to a special court and the sentences on conviction are severe. The first task in most of these cases is to test whether the offence is terrorism at all as the Supreme Court has defined it.
Fortis Legal Partners defends accused persons before the Anti-Terrorism Courts of Punjab: bail applications, applications for transfer of the case to the ordinary criminal court where the terrorism sections do not apply, trial, and appeals before the Lahore High Court. We also act in proceedings for removal of names from the Fourth Schedule and in related detention matters.
Who this is for
- Accused persons charged under section 7 ATA alongside ordinary offences
- Families seeking bail for a relative held in an ATA case
- Persons placed on the Fourth Schedule or facing preventive detention
Typical matters
- Bail before the Anti-Terrorism Court and the Lahore High Court
- Applications under section 23 ATA to transfer the case to the ordinary court
- Deletion of section 7 ATA from the FIR
- Trial before the Anti-Terrorism Court
- Appeals against conviction before the Lahore High Court
- Removal from the Fourth Schedule and challenges to detention orders
Statutes and rules
- Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997
- Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
- Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960
What the process looks like
- 1
Read the FIR against the definition
Whether the act was designed to create terror in the public, or was a private dispute, decides the forum and the bail.
- 2
Bail and transfer
Bail is moved at once; where the section does not fit, an application to transfer the case to the Sessions Court is filed with it.
- 3
Trial
ATC trials run day to day; the defence is prepared in full before the charge is framed.
- 4
Appeal
Appeals lie to a Division Bench of the Lahore High Court within the statutory period.
Where these matters are heard
Lahore High Court
Governing law: Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973
Constitutional (writ) petitions under Article 199, civil and criminal appeals and revisions, bail before the High Court, and references from tax and customs tribunals. Both founding partners have been Advocates of the High Court since 2023.
District Courts, Lahore
The civil and sessions courts where most matters begin: civil suits before Civil Judges and Additional District Judges, and criminal trials before Magistrates and Sessions Judges. The firm was founded in the District Courts of Dera Ghazi Khan and still treats trial-court work as the core of the practice.
Questions clients ask
Yes. Under section 23 of the Act, if the ATC finds the offence is not a scheduled offence, it transfers the case to the ordinary court. The Supreme Court has held that the motive and design to create terror, not merely the gravity of the act, is what makes an offence terrorism.
Ask this on WhatsAppYes, though the test is stricter. Bail is granted where the material does not connect the accused to the offence, where the terrorism sections are not attracted, or where the case is one of further inquiry. Delay in trial can also be a ground.
Ask this on WhatsAppHandled by
Founding Partner · Advocate High Court
Muhammad Messam Haidery
Criminal, anti-terrorism, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and cyber crime advocate in Lahore
Punjab Bar Council · Enrolment No. 91220
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Nothing on this page is legal advice and no representation is made as to the outcome of any matter.
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