Pakistan: 7-judge bench to decide span of life sentence

A 7-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) – led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa – will, on October 2, decide the duration of the span of life imprisonment in Pakistan.

The three-judge bench, led by CJP Khosa, while hearing a matter on July 29 questioned whether life imprisonment meant imprisonment of a convict for his remaining biological life or anything shorter than that – and if so, whether different sentences of imprisonment for life passed in the same case or different cases were to run concurrently or consecutively.

“The question has appeared to us to be a question of immense public importance affecting a larger number of cases in the country,” said CJP Khosa.

The court has also issued a notice to the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP), advocate generals and prosecutor generals to assist in the matter.

Members of the bench, hailing from 3 provinces, include Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed. All members have expertise in criminal law.

According to sources, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) is also considering becoming a party in this case.

A PBC executive member said the bar council wants to assist the SC in this matter as lawyers are not in favour of any interpretation, suggesting that life imprisonment means imprisonment of a convict for his remaining biological life.

Likewise, a convict Khadija Shah, a British national, has also filed an application through his counsel Raheel Kamran Sheikh to become party in the case.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sheikh said any interpretation of the sentence of “imprisonment for life” as incarceration for the remaining biological life of a convict would be unconstitutional and violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 9, 14 and 25, besides being in contrast with the judicial history on the subject.

Currently, the sentence of life imprisonment corresponds to a maximum imprisonment of 25 years, and a minimum of 15 years (per Rule 140 of the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978); after earning remissions as may be extended by the executive functionaries from time to time but subject to Section 401 CrPC, Rule 216 and Rule 218 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.

The jail manual also provides for at least a 14-year substantive period for those sentenced to life imprisonment. Section 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that life imprisonment will be 25 years.

The CJP had hinted at interpreting the ambiguity of the life sentence while hearing review appeal of a death row convict, Abdul Qayyum. During the hearing, Justice Khosa had remarked that the current interpretation of life imprisonment law was flawed. Referring to judicial practice in India, the chief justice remarked that life sentences in India are given after specifying the period of imprisonment.

“The span of life imprisonment is regarded as limited to 25 years, while it is meant to last a lifetime. The court would thoroughly interpret the law at an appropriate time. Once it happens, convicts will ask for a death sentence instead of life imprisonment,” CJP Khosa had said during the June hearing.

“In India, they clearly mention the number of years a convict has to stay in prison,” he added.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of India said that life imprisonment implied a jail term for the convict’s entire life.

The apex court had also noted that its constitutional bench’s landmark judgment of 1980 on the criterion for imposing death penalty needed a “fresh look” as there had been “no uniformity” in following its principles on what constitutes “the rarest of rare” cases.

“It appears to us there is a misconception that a prisoner serving a life sentence has an indefeasible right to be released on completion of either 14 years or 20 years imprisonment. The prisoner has no such right,” said judgment issued by SC of India published in an Indian newspaper.

“A convict undergoing life imprisonment is expected to remain in custody till the end of his life, subject to any remission granted by the appropriate government,” a bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Madan B Lokur said.

The bench, however, clarified that under remission, the appropriate government cannot reduce the period of a sentence less than 14 years for a life convict.

“In the case of a convict undergoing life imprisonment, he will be in custody for an indeterminate period.”

Source: tribune.com.pk, Staff, September 29, 2019

More than life

A life sentence in Pakistan is counted as 14 years. Wajih-ul-Hassan has served far more than that. In 2002, he was condemned to death in a blasphemy case and has remained behind bars since then, for 18 years facing not only imprisonment but also the constant threat of being walked to the gallows. He is now suddenly free.

A three judge bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah exonerated Wajih from blasphemy and ordered his release.

The court observed there was insufficient proof that he had written blasphemous letters; it had been alleged that at the time Wajih was held, letters had been written to a senior lawyer, Ismail Qureshi. The lawyer had filed a petition before the Federal Shariat Court, asking it to make death penalty the only punishment for blasphemy. The lawyers argued that this had angered Wajih.

The details involved handwriting analysis, the question of Wajih’s religion, the fact that the letters were burnt by the lawyer as he considered them too sacrilegious and other matters. But what is significant is that a man had so many years of his life taken away from him on a charge that he had not committed.

There are others in the same situation. Junaid Hafeez, a visiting lecturer in English at the Bahauddin Zakariya University, has already served 12 years in jail without even the first phase of his case before a trial court having been completed. He was accused by a student of committing blasphemy. There are others like Junaid.

To make matters worse, radical television hosts have urged students to capture on video any teacher who utters blasphemy, presumably so that they can be arrested and penalised. There are multiple cases of people being jailed for blasphemy on flimsy grounds, often to settle petty scores or business disputes. It is also true some have been killed in jail or later when returned to their villages after being freed.

The situation is an extremely grave one. It is vital the state looks at how it administers the blasphemy law so that innocent people cannot so easily be victimised.

The case of Aasia Bibi made international headlines recently. Pakistan needs to review the way the blasphemy law is used in order to spare people so much suffering.

Source: thenews.com.pk, Editorial, September 29, 2019

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