SC stays hanging of schizophrenic prisoner Imdad Ali

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday stayed the hanging of schizophrenic prisoner Imdad Ali, who was scheduled to be hanged on November 2.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali has also issued notices to Attorney General for Pakistan, Advocate General Punjab and prosecutor general and adjourned the hearing of the case till second week of November.



Last week, on request of the Punjab government, Vehari sessions court issued a death warrant for the prisoner. The death warrant came days after SC ruled schizophrenia did not fall within its legal definition of mental disorders, clearing the way for the execution.



Earlier, Ali's wife, Safia Bano, filed an application for the hearing of her husband’s case on October 31.

“End of justice demand that (the) stay for death execution may kindly be heard on (an) urgent basis on October 31, because if the application is not heard on (the) same day, the petition would become infructuous and the husband of the petitioner would be hanged early in the morning on November 2,” she said in her application.