Court orders Punjab govt to grant remissions to convicted military official

The LHC bench in Rawalpindi comprises of Justice Shahid Abbasi and Justice Abdul Sami Khan accepted a plea submitted by Tanveer Iqbal Advocate on behalf of his client Ali for grant of remissions earned in jail, media reports said.

Advocate Iqbal said that his client was convicted by a general court martial in August 2012 and handed down five years rigorous imprisonment. The lawyer said that under the army act and anti-terrorism act, the convicts are not eligible for the same remissions in their sentences as other convicts.

The petitioner had pleaded to the court that he had earned certain remissions through good conduct, imparting and obtaining education in jail. He argued that his client was also entitled for remissions granted on Eids and national holidays.

The lawyer said that the petitioner had submitted a plea to the Punjab home department for grant of earned remissions but they turned down the request.

The court has declared that the petitioner could be granted remissions that he had earned in the jail, advocate said.

He said that it was the duty of jail authorities to have count of the remissions that Ali had earned. He noted that approximately one year could be granted as earned remissions to the petitioner.