ISLAMABAD, Jun 10 (APP):The Supreme Court of Pakistan has granted relief to a convict in a case involving the recovery of 14.5 kilograms of hashish in Lahore, ruling that 11 years of imprisonment would be sufficient in place of the life sentence previously awarded to him. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar and comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard the case on Wednesday. During …
SC reduces life sentence to 11 years in 14.5 kg hashish recovery case
ISLAMABAD, Jun 10 (APP):The Supreme Court of Pakistan has granted relief to a convict in a case involving the recovery of 14.5 kilograms of hashish in Lahore, ruling that 11 years of imprisonment would be sufficient in place of the life sentence previously awarded to him.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar and comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, heard the case on Wednesday.
During the proceedings, the Court also reduced the additional imprisonment awarded in default of payment of a Rs100,000 fine from six months to 15 days.
Justice Hashim Kakar inquired about the amount of fine imposed along with the life sentence. Counsel for the convict, Asif Ali, informed the Court that a fine of Rs100,000 had been imposed and that failure to pay it would result in an additional six months’ imprisonment.
The Court observed that the convict had been in custody since 2015 and was entitled, as a matter of legal right, to sentence remissions available under the previous law. The defence counsel further submitted that, according to the jail authorities’ report, the convict’s sentence would extend until 2040 if remissions were not taken into account.
During the hearing, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim remarked that the prescribed protocol for forensic testing of the narcotics had not been followed in the case.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court held that 11 years of imprisonment would be treated as equivalent to life imprisonment in the circumstances of the case and granted relief to convict Asif Ali on that basis.
