A most welcome change

The courts now need more judges, magistrates and prosecuting officers to allow them to adjudicate all cases timely.

President Asif Zardari’s decision to sign an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code that will give prisoners the opportunity to seek bail if their cases are not adjudicated within a certain time frame should be warmly welcomed. Prisoners who have been charged with crimes that do not carry the death penalty can file for bail if their case hasn’t been heard within one year, while for offenses that are punishable by death prisoners can seek bail after two years. Although all sound judicial systems operate under the assumption that people are innocent until proven guilty, in Pakistan this foundation of justice is circumvented by denying the accused their day in court. According to one estimate, around 77 per cent of our prison population comprises under-trial prisoners. This law, which should surely count as one of the signature legislative accomplishments of the PPP government, will provide relief to those who have been denied justice.

Critics of this amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code will point out that it could lead to many guilty people being freed before the courts have a chance to rule on their cases. This criticism is without merit. Rather, this amendment should be viewed as the government throwing down the gauntlet to the judiciary and telling it that speediness is an essential part of justice. It is now up to the judiciary to hear and rule on cases in an efficient manner. If it fails to do so, the fault will lie with the courts, and not the government, that possibly guilty prisoners can seek bail. To complement this law, the courts now need more judges, magistrates and prosecuting officers to allow them to adjudicate all cases in a timely manner. The amendment also tackles an oft-neglected human rights issue — that of overcrowded prisons. Even convicted prisoners have basic rights and prisons that are teeming with people deny them those rights. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated that Pakistan has a prison capacity of about 35,000 while the number of prisoners is close to 79,000. This new amendment should help narrow that gap.





Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2011.