No evidence against Adiala Jail prisoners means no imprisonment: CJ

Chief justice says if imprisonment is proven illegal, action will be taken against the concerned officials.

ISLAMABAD: If there is no evidence, the Adiala Jail prisoners cannot be held captive even for a minute, said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday.

While hearing the missing prisoners case, the chief justice said if the imprisonment is proven illegal, action will be taken against the concerned officials.

In November 2007, 11 men were detained for crimes not known. After spending several years in prison on mere suspicion, the Supreme Court ordered their release in May 2010. However, they disappeared from outside Adiala Jail the day they were set free.

The Supreme Court took up the matter, asking the agencies to present the men. In February 2012, the men, haggard-looking and barely able to stand or talk, appeared before the court. The counsel for the spy agencies claimed that the men were not picked up from outside Adiala Jail – rather they were detained from the war zone.

During today’s hearing, the chief justice remarked that the security agencies possess no proof against the detainees.

Raja Irshad, counsel for the intelligence agencies, argued that those arrested are imprisoned according to the law.