SC commutes death penalty of two mentally unstable inmates in a landmark verdict

According to details, a five-member bench of SC heard by Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Aijaz-ul-Hassan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah pronounced the verdict at the apex court’s Lahore registry.

The bench had reserved the verdict on a number of review petitions filed by Punjab government against execution of convicts suffering from mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.

While pronouncing verdict, the top court ordered relevant authorities to shift Imdad Ali and Kanizan Fatima Bibi to a mental health facility.

SC has directed another prisoner on death row Ghulam Abbas to file a mercy appeal before President of Pakistan, hoping that he will take the decision in the light of apex court verdict.

Kanizan Fatima Bibi was awarded death sentence in 1991 for killing six people, whereas Imdad Ali, who hailed from Vehari, was handed capital punishment in 2002 for killing a citizen named Hafiz Hamdullah in Burewala. Ghulam Abbas was awarded death sentence in 2004.