LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) proceeding with a petition filed for a jail inmate noted that neither the Prisons Act, 1894, nor the Prisons Act, 1900, mentions the post of the Inspector General of Prisons in the Punjab and directed the law ministry to take immediate steps to remove the anomalies.

The court observed, the Punjab legislature’s failure to make appropriate revisions to the Acts of 1894 and 1900, particularly section 5 of the former, has no legal ramifications. The “Director of Prisons” in section 5, ibid. must be read as “Inspector General Prisons”, the court added.

The court observed these Acts were enacted during the British rule in India, which Pakistan adopted after the partition.

The court said Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been vigilant. Sindh Ordinance No.1 of 1978 amended the Acts of 1894 and 1900, substituting “Director” wherever occurring with “Inspector General”. The North-West Frontier Province Adaptation of Prisons Laws Act, 1977, made similar, the court added.

The court also dealing with the matter of petitioner Raiza Bibi, who approached the court against shifting her son Naveed Ahmed from central jail Faisalabad to Adiala jail, observed that international law, as well as, state laws recognise that prisoners, both civil and military, have rights and added that Articles 4, 10, 10A and 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan also safeguard prisoners’ rights.

The court observed, nevertheless, that transferring a prisoner from one jail to another is sometimes necessary for administrative or security reasons. However, the court added that using this power arbitrarily can cause injustice and immense hardship for the prisoner and his family.

The court referring to the Aslam Khaki case said, “The Federal Shariat Court ruled that rules 147 through 149 of the Pakistan Prisons Rules, 1978, as well as, section 29 of the Prisoners Act, are repugnant to the Islamic injunctions as the government has given unfettered powers to the authorities to transfer a prisoner from one province to another province.

The court said Section 29 of the Prisoners Act, 1900, and Chapter 7 of the Prison Rules should be recast so that arbitrary and unbridled powers are neither given to the government nor to the Inspector General of Prisons”.

The court held legislative reforms and a comprehensive policy on prisoners’ transfer based on the guiding principles outlined in the international instruments, and the Aslam Khaki case are long overdue.

The court; therefore, directed the Punjab government to ensure no further delay in the much-needed legislative reforms and referred the petition to the home department for reconsidering the petitioner’s matter.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023