LAHORE - The Lahore High Court Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a condemned prisoner Abdul Basit against his execution for disability.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq of the LHC heard the case. The bench observed that it is the job of the jail superintendent and doctor to decide whether a death row prisoner was fit for execution. The bench held proceedings at SC Lahore registry.
As the hearing commenced, convict’s mother Nusrat Parveen told the bench through her counsel that the execution of a paralyzed man was against the jail law and human rights. The petitioner’s counsel stated that Basit was paralyzed from the waist down due to negligence of jail officials and used a wheelchair to move.
The counsel pleaded the court to order jail authorities not to execute him. However, the counsel of the Punjab government opposed the arguments of the petitioner’s counsel and said that sections 350 and 356 of jail manual allowed execution of crippled convicts. He pointed out that the jail officials used wheelchair to take the disabled prisoners to the gallows.
Basit, 43, was convicted and sentenced to death for killing one Asif Nadeem of Okara murder in 2009.
After hearing arguments of both sides, the bench observed that the petitioner should wait for the decision of jail superintendent or doctor as they had the jurisdiction to decide fitness of a prisoner for the execution.
Escape bid foiled: Police foiled escape attempt of an accused of scuffle after the Lahore High Court dismissed his petition on Tuesday.
Imran, a resident of Gujrat, had filed bail petition in scuffle case lodged with a police station in Gujrat district. Complainant Sarwar Butt lodged a fake FIR against him despite the fact that he had not beaten anybody, he said.
Police were conducting raids at his house and were harassing his family members, the petitioner said. He pleaded the court to release him. However, a prosecutor presented a medical report which showed him guilty of beating the complainant.
The prosecutor said that the accused brutally tortured him, therefore, his bail petition be dismissed. After hearing both sides, the court dismissed the bail petition. The accused tried to escape but police took him into custody.