SC declares plea seeking same facilities for all inmates inadmissible

ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected a petition regarding treating all prisoners by the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978 without any special privileges or preferential treatment, ARY News reported.

The six-member Constitutional Bench, headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan heard the petitions of Chaudhry Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Saeed and Muhammad Awais versus the Federation of Pakistan through the Secretary, Ministry of Interior.

The Court, while maintaining the objections of the Registrar SCP office over the maintainability of the petition, rejected the plea observing that it is not the job of the Supreme Court to oversee facilities provided to the prisoners.

Additional Attorney General for Pakistan, while agreeing to the objections of the registrar’s office, argued before the court that the petition seemed to be personal.

Justice Jamal Mandokhail advised the petitioner to approach the provincial government or concerned High Court if he has objections over the rules.

In a separate development earlier prisoners in Punjab jails demanded same facilities as those provided to Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala jail.

Also read: Prisoners demand same facilities as PTI founder: IG prisons

In a letter written to Punjab advocate general, IG prisons stated that the prisoners have requested the same privileges as Imran Khan, including six meetings with his lawyers in a day.

The prisoners have expressed their discontent with the special treatment given to the former prime minister. They have argued that providing such facilities to one person while denying them to others is a violation of the Prison Rules 1978.

Earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi expressed displeasure over the overcrowding in jails of the country, saying that over 108,000 persons are incarcerated in the prisons originally designed for 66,625 inmates.

Chaired a meeting focused on improving prison conditions and the welfare of prisoners, the CJP while quoting the Law and Justice Commission said that 36,128 prisoners have been waiting for trial for over a year.

CJP Yahya Afridi said that Punjab province is the most affected by overcrowding in jails with 67,837 prisoners being held in facilities meant for 36,365. He was of the view that the large number of prisoners waiting for trial highlights the need for judicial reform.