Observer Report Islamabad
The Supreme Court (SC) abolished death penalties for prisoners with mental illnesses in a landmark judgment on Wednesday.
If a prisoner on death row is unable to comprehend the rationale behind their punishment due to a mental illness, then carrying out the death sentence does not “meet the ends of justice”, the court’s order read.
A five-judge bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik announced the judgment at the Lahore registry.
The decision was taken after the court heard three cases of prisoners on death row showing symptoms of mental illnesses. These were Imdad Ali, Kanizan Bibi, and Ghulam Abbas. They have spent 18, 30, and 14 years in prison respectively, and have been convicted of murder.
The court changes Kanizan Bibi and Ali’s sentence to life imprisonment and has ordered a new petition to be prepared for Ghulam Abbas which clearly showed symptoms of his illness. The petition will have to be prepared on the basis of the Prison Rules and submitted to the president.
The court has instructed the Punjab government to move the prisoners from jail to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore.
The court has decided to substitute the terms “unsoundness of mind, lunatic and unsound mind” mentioned in the PPC and the Prison Rules with “mental illness” or “mental disorder”.
