LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday directed Inspector General of Prisons Punjab to allow Indian prisoner on death row Sarabjit Singh to meet his counsel Advocate Awais Sheikh at Kot Lakhpat Jail.
The order was passed by LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial who disposed of a petition moved by Advocate Sheikh against Punjab home secretary and IG Prisons for not letting him meet his client.
On the court’s direction, the IG Prisons submitted his reply and stated that all petitions as well as the mercy appeal of Singh had been dismissed and no case was pending before any court of law in Pakistan. Therefore, there was no need to allow the Indian convict to meet any lawyer, he added.
The chief justice, however, directed the IG Prisons to give the petitioner one-time permission to meet his client on humanitarian grounds. He also directed the counsel to bring fresh power of attorney from the family of Singh if he wanted to meet him again.
In his petition, Advocate Sheikh had submitted that he is the legal counsel of Singh, who has been imprisoned for the last 22 years, and has been meeting him in jail for the last three years as per the court orders. He added that on September 1, he submitted an application to meet his client which was rejected on the grounds that “rules do not allow meeting with the counsel”.
He had submitted that in the presence of the standing LHC order, the rejection of his application was illegal, unlawful and amounted to contempt of court.
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@KSU: Real terrorists are freed by your Courts everyday. Why not him? Because he is an Indian?
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui: He is a terrorist and should be punished accordingly - why do Indians consider the freeing of a terrorist "good news"? I thought India considered itself in the forefront of fighting terrorism. Double standards?
Sarabjit Singh will be set free in due course of time.
Good news for Sarabjit's family and all Indians.
Please call an end to this sordid saga and a nightmare for a human being!
alright Islam ask us to be merciful,but to a point of a limit,let this be the last time, because this dangerous raw agent had nothing other then destruction of my nation. a crime unforgivable,we have treated him well cared for him, because our religion is forgiving,but this is a state enemy,should have been forgotten,not advertised. in fact his cell should be specially made for him in a shape of en egg,where he sits and rots away. thank you
In common law visit by his Advocate is a prisoners right and does not need anybodies permission or any favor. May be this fundamental principal of fair justice system does not apply in Pakistan.
Court being a bit too generous to this confessed terrorist