Federal Shariat Court comprising Justice Saeed-ur-Rehman Farrukh and Justice Zafar Pasha Chaudhry has directed all the Inspectors General of prisons to put all the jail superintendents under obligation to submit a report to the proper appellate forum in respect of each convict within seven days of his admission in the jail whether they like to file an appeal against their conviction. The court observed that if the answer of the convict is to be in positive, he should make necessary arrangements for his assistance in this regard and if the reply is to be in negative, intention of the convict be ascertained in writing.
The court passed these orders during the course of proceedings of an appeal filed by Muhammad Akhtar, a co-convict of Rafaqat Ali who is in jail from 2002 while Muhammad Akhtar is on bail since March 2003.
The court observed that under Section 420 of CrPC, a convict has a right to file an appeal against his conviction and sentence through officer-in-charge of the jail before the proper appellate court. The law officer appeared before the court and contended that the possibility could not be excluded that many convicts like Rafaqat Ali might not have filed appeals against their conviction and sentence due to lack of knowledge about their right for filing appeal or some other reasons.
The court, after hearing the law officer, observed that right of filing an appeal by a convict is postulated out from Article 9 of the Constitution. In this view of the matter, rule 90 ibid., should be treated and read as conferring a responsibility upon the superintendent jail concerned to inquire in writing from the convict as to whether he would like to file an appeal against his conviction.
The court also appointed Mansoor Ahmed Main as the counsel of Rafaqat Ali at the State's expense to represent him in the appeal.