Sindh High Court (SHC) Friday issued notices to Secretary Home Department, Inspector General (IGs) of Sindh and Prison to submit their replies in a petition, seeking speedy trial of under trial prisoners in the province.
SHC bench issued the orders in a petition filed by Pakistan Institute Labour, Education & Research, human rights activist Jibran Nasir and others. Petitioners prayed the court to declare that all under trial prisoners (UTPs) are entitled to a speedy trial in accordance with Article 10-A, Constitution, 1973 and that UTPs who have spent periods longer than their maximum terms for the offences charged (if convicted for the offences charged) should be released by the trial court, on specified terms and conditions of bail/bond during the pendency of their trial, except dangerous and hardened criminals.
They also requested the court to direct all the criminal courts under the jurisdiction of high court to submit a report of all under trial prisoners who have spent periods longer than their maximum terms for the offences charged (if convicted for the offences charged) to the court for passing of appropriate orders on such report.
They also pleaded the court to direct the concerned authorities to form a joint commission for conducting a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of all prison facilities, particularly with respect to over-crowding, hygiene, medical, nutritional, recreational and vocational facilities, and submit the same to this court for passing of appropriate orders.
Petitioners referred to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's report for year-2018, which indicated that the prisons in Pakistan are severely overcrowded. On average, they are 57 percent over capacity.
Quoting the report, they said as many as eight prisoners could be confined for most of the day in a cell meant to accommodate two and submitted that according to this report, in a Suo Motu case taken up in July 2018, in the matter of the conditions of inmates in prisons, by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, counsel Federal Ombudsman informed it that there were a total of 78,160 inmates against a sanctioned capacity of 63,532 prisoners in 98 jails across Pakistan. It was further submitted that out of these 78,160 inmates, 25,195 were convicted, 48,780 were under-trial, and 4,688 were condemned prisoners.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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