Amendments to CrPC: No arrests without citing grounds says Law Commission

Causing injury or death during arrest only justifiable in self-defence.

LAHORE:

The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan on Saturday introduced an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) disallowing law enforcers from actions causing injury or death of a person being arrested unless those arresting him faced a threat to life.

Through another amendment, the commission made it compulsory for police to inform a person about the reasons for his arrest.

The commission met under Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry.

The amendment to Section 46 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 with addition of a new sub-section (4) says “the police officer or other person making arrest shall not use any means which may cause death of, or grievous bodily injury to the person being arrested unless there is probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested poses an imminent threat of causing death or grievous bodily injury either to the police officer, the person making arrest or any other person making arrest”.

The addition to Section 54-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure says every person, upon arrest shall be informed about the grounds of his arrest.

The commission also approved a law reform proposal by addition of the Section 9-A in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, recommending that a parent who is unable to maintain himself shall be entitled to claim maintenance allowance from his children.

The Law Commission amended the Fatal Accident Act, 1855. It recommended that suits under the law shall be brought for the benefit of legal heirs of a deceased. The heirs may be awarded interim compensation. The cases must be decided within a period of six months.

National Commission on the Status of Women chairperson Khawar Mumtaz and Advocate Abid Hassan Minto also attended the meeting of the Law Commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2014.