Supreme Court starts examination of Diyat laws

A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court started in-depth examination of the Diyat laws promulgated in 1990 and clubbed all appeals in such cases to give a comprehensive judgement and remove impediments in the implementation of these laws.
The bench comprises Mr Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Mr Justice Javed Iqbal, Mr Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Mr Justice Shakirullah Jan and Mr Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad.
It may be recalled that on direction of the Supreme Court Shariat Bench, the Federal government promulgated Criminal Law (2nd amendment) Ordinance in 1990 and inserted new provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code from 299 to 338 in light of the Islamic injections of Diyyat, Damaan and Arsh, to compensate monetarily families of the victims.
However, the Law Ministry did not frame necessary rules for implementation of the new laws during the past 16 years and a lacunae remained as to who would pay the Diyyat to the aggrieved families on behalf of the destitute convicts after completion of their substantive sentence.
Sections 331, 334, Y & 337 X of the PPC provide that, a convict cannot be released even after completion of his sentence if he did not pay Diyat to the families of the victims, but a single bench of the Lahore High Court struck down these sections and declared them ultra vires.
Punjab government had filed an appeal against this judgement in the Supreme Court and similar appeals arising out of decisions of the other High Courts were also pending in the Apex Court.
On previous hearing of the appeals on 4th December, 2006, Mr Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had observed that the government should prepare a scheme to assist the poor convicts in payment of Diyat and issued notices to the Attorney General and Advocates General of the four provinces 13th December 2006.
During course today's proceedings, the court expressed displeasure that despite direction of the Peshawar High Court in 1998, the Law Ministry did not frame rules of the new Laws and there is no mode/provision of payment of Diyyat on behalf of the destitute convicts.
The Court directed the Attorney General to inform it on Thursday (today) about the steps being taken by the Law and other ministries for the help of the poor convicts.