Seven-judge bench to decide span of life sentence

PBC also considering becoming party in this case

 ISLAMABAD  : A seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) – led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa – will, on October 2, decide the duration of the span of life imprisonment in Pakistan.

The three-judge bench, led by CJP Khosa, while hearing a matter on July 29 questioned whether life imprisonment meant imprisonment of a convict for his remaining biological life or anything shorter than that - and if so, whether different sentences of imprisonment for life passed in the same case or different cases were to run concurrently or consecutively.

"The question has appeared to us to be a question of immense public importance affecting a larger number of cases in the country," said CJP Khosa.

The court has also issued a notice to the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP), advocate generals and prosecutor generals to assist in the matter.

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Members of the bench, hailing from three provinces, include Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed. All members have expertise in criminal law.

According to sources, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) is also considering becoming a party in this case.

A PBC executive member said the bar council wants to assist the SC in this matter as lawyers are not in favour of any interpretation, suggesting that life imprisonment means imprisonment of a convict for his remaining biological life.

Likewise, a convict Khadija Shah, a British national, has also filed an application through his counsel Raheel Kamran Sheikh to become party in the case.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sheikh said any interpretation of the sentence of "imprisonment for life" as incarceration for the remaining biological life of a convict would be unconstitutional and violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 9, 14 and 25, besides being in contrast with the judicial history on the subject.

Currently, the sentence of life imprisonment corresponds to a maximum imprisonment of 25 years, and a minimum of 15 years (per Rule 140 of the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978); after earning remissions as may be extended by the executive functionaries from time to time but subject to Section 401 CrPC, Rule 216 and Rule 218 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.

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The jail manual also provides for at least a 14-year substantive period for those sentenced to life imprisonment. Section 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that life imprisonment will be 25 years.

The CJP had hinted at interpreting the ambiguity of the life sentence while hearing review appeal of a death row convict, Abdul Qayyum. During the hearing, Justice Khosa had remarked that the current interpretation of life imprisonment law was flawed. Referring to judicial practice in India, the chief justice remarked that life sentences in India are given after specifying the period of imprisonment.

"The span of life imprisonment is regarded as limited to 25 years, while it is meant to last a lifetime. The court would thoroughly interpret the law at an appropriate time. Once it happens, convicts will ask for a death sentence instead of life imprisonment," CJP Khosa had said during the June hearing.

"In India, they clearly mention the number of years a convict has to stay in prison," he added.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of India said that life imprisonment implied a jail term for the convict's entire life.

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The apex court had also noted that its constitutional bench's landmark judgment of 1980 on the criterion for imposing death penalty needed a "fresh look" as there had been "no uniformity" in following its principles on what constitutes "the rarest of rare" cases.

"It appears to us there is a misconception that a prisoner serving a life sentence has an indefeasible right to be released on completion of either 14 years or 20 years imprisonment. The prisoner has no such right," said judgment issued by SC of India published in an Indian newspaper.

"A convict undergoing life imprisonment is expected to remain in custody till the end of his life, subject to any remission granted by the appropriate government," a bench of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Madan B Lokur said.

The bench, however, clarified that under remission, the appropriate government cannot reduce the period of a sentence less than 14 years for a life convict.

"In the case of a convict undergoing life imprisonment, he will be in custody for an indeterminate period."