Pakistan Supreme Court bars execution of inmates with mental disorder
Updated:
Updated:
February 10, 2021 17:02 IST
A five-member Bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik passed the order on the appeals of mentally ill death-row prisoners who have respectively served 30, 18 and 14 years on the death row.
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supremecourt.gov.pk
A five-member Bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik passed the order on the appeals of mentally ill death-row prisoners who have respectively served 30, 18 and 14 years on the death row. Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday barred the execution of inmates suffering from mental disorder, observing that carrying out the death sentence does not “meet the ends of justice” if a convict was unable to comprehend the rationale behind the punishment.
SC offers relief to mentally ill convicts
Commutes death sentence of two prisoners to life imprisonment
Supreme Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD/
LAHORE:
In a landmark verdict, the top court has commuted the death sentence of two mentally challenged patients – who have been behind bars for decades – to life imprisonment while also asking the authorities to avoid a limited definition of mental disorders.
A five-judge larger bench presided over by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik issued a 51-page judgment on petitions filed by the families of convicts after hearing the case at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry. Without touching on the mental health condition of the convict Imdad Ali, we have observed that there are sufficient reasons and circumstances available on record that warrant the conversion of the prisoner s death sentence to imprisonment for life, stated the verdict released on Wednesday.
Jail overcrowding down to 37%
Punjab’s prisons had 146% more inmates than capacity in 2010, LHC informed
LAHORE:
Overcrowding of prisoners in the jails of Punjab has dropped to 37 per cent from 146% during the past decade.
This was revealed in a report submitted to Lahore High Court (LHC) on behalf of the inspector general of prisons in response to a petition seeking directions to treat the prisoners in accordance with the Jail Manual. The petitioner had also called for shifting patients suffering from mental disorders to hospitals and drug addicts to rehabilitation centres.
Requesting the court to dispose of the petition, the report said the prisons department would leave no stone unturned to safeguard the rights of the prisoners in line with the international standards and best practices.
SC seeks assistance on mentally-ill death-row inmates
Medical board submits reports on two schizophrenic inmates
Supreme Court of Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
A larger bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked amici curiae to assist it on the questions as to why mentally-ill prisoners could not be executed and whether they could be hanged if they recover after treatment.
The five-member bench, headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, was hearing clubbed petitions of Kanizan Bibi, Imdad Ali and Ghulam Abbas, who have spent 30, 18 and 14 years, respectively, on death row, while exhibiting acute symptoms of mental illness.
During the hearing, a medical board constituted by the apex court submitted its reports, regarding two mentally-ill death-row prisoners, declaring both the inmates as schizophrenic patients.