Corporal punishment: IHC suspends Section 89 of PPC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday suspended Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that allows for the use of corporal punishment by parents, guardians and teachers "in good faith for their benefit."

A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition moved by singer and rights activist Shehzad Roy. He sought ban on use of violence as a means to discipline children in school.

The IHC bench issued notices to the respondents for filing report and para-wise comments within a fortnight. The court also directed to issue notices to the attorney general for Pakistan and the federal secretary Ministry of Human Rights.

The IHC bench noted in its verdict, "In the meanwhile, respondent no 5 (Interior Ministry) is directed to ensure that children enrolled in schools under its control are not subjected to any humiliating and degrading treatment, which would violate the right of the child's dignity guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973."

"It is noted that corporal punishments are not in consonance with the constitutionally guaranteed right of inviolability of dignity notwithstanding Section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860. Respondent no 5 is further directed to put in place a mechanism for receiving complaints and redressal thereof against alleged use of corporal punishments within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The federal government is also directed to advise the Private Education Institutions Regulatory Authority to issue guidelines to the private schools in the light of the above observations," the bench added.

The IHC bench directed Federal Ministry of Human Rights to submit a report regarding status of the compliance with the obligations of the State of Pakistan under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the prohibition of corporal punishment.

The petitioner invoked the constitutional jurisdiction of the court under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamabad Republic of Pakistan, 1973 and contended that corporal punishment was being used to discipline children in the schools.

He argued that corporal punishment in any form was in violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under articles 14 and 9 of the Constitution.

The learned counsel Shahab Uddin Usto argued that use of corporal punishment affects the child physically as well as emotionally and thus causes irreversible damage to the victim.

It exposes them to fear, anger and depression.

The counsel for the petitioner stressed that aggressive and degrading treatment in the form of corporal punishment is destructive and has huge impact on the child's psychology besides causing physical harm.

The counsel placed reliance on the judgment of the court, dated 11 June 2018, passed in Criminal Appeal no. 154/2018 "Raja Khurram Ali Khan and another vs. Tayyaba Bibi and another" in support of his contention that subjecting children to physical and mental abuse could attract the offence Section 328-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.

He stressed that the federal government had yet to fulfill its obligations under Article 19 read with other provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which the State of Pakistan has ratified.

The counsel contended that all forms of corporal punishments were a major cause for children who refused to attend schools.