Outdated laws: Need for change

Section 292 (sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.) carries imprisonment up to 6 months, or fine of Rs1,000, or both.

KARACHI:

Twenty six sections of the Pakistan Penal Code — sections 268 to 294 — are directly related to offences affecting public health, safety, convenience, decency and morals but they do not carry the required punishments to match the extent of the crime and need to be updated.

For instance, section 292 (sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.) carries imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs1,000, or both.

Section 182 of the PPC (false information with the intent to influence a public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person) states imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs1,000, or both as punishment.

The Fisheries Act of 1897 (section 4) states that if any person uses a dynamite or other explosive substance in the water with the intent to catch or destroy fish, he shall be punishable with imprisonment of up to two months, or fined up to Rs200.

Section 5 of the fisheries act states that any person who adds poison, lime or noxious material in water with the intent to catch or destroy fish, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to two months, or fined up to Rs200.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2014.