LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday declared Section 402C of the Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC) unconstitutional.
Lahore High Court Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued this decision on the petition filed by Mubarak Ali in the murder case.
After convicting him, the court sentenced the petitioner to life imprisonment in 2006.
The convict requested the Punjab government to suspend the sentence on medical grounds, but the authorities concerned rejected his request. Later, the accused approached the Lahore High Court against the dismissal of his petition.
“Section 402-C Cr.PC insofar as it bars that authority is contrary to the Constitution and has no force,” the judgment read.
Section 402-C of the CrPC states that the Provincial Government, the Federal Government, or the President shall not suspend or commute any sentence without the consent of the victim, or as the case may be, his heirs. Sections in Chapter XVI of the Pakistan Penal Code.
“The power conferred on the President by Article 45 of the Constitution is supreme. It is distinct from the Code of Criminal Procedure, Writ Petition No. 27557/2021-16-1898, and its codification or other subsidiary bodies. is not subject to the statutory or executive provision of,” the judgment added.
The prosecutor said that under CrPC Section 402-C, the President or the government has no power to commute or cancel the sentence of a convicted person without the will of the heir.
He said that due to the government’s hands being tied, it cannot provide relief. The amicus curiae also noted that the President cannot be prevented from exercising his powers under Article 45 because of the proviso to Article 402-C.
The court then ruled that the government could refer Ali’s appeal under Article 45 to the President.