Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa on Wednesday questioned the 25-year span of life imprisonment, as a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) took up the case to determine the time period of a life sentence.
During the case, the top judge said: “How life imprisonment can be fixed for 25 years in prison when the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is silent on the matter?
“The question has appeared to us to be a question of immense public importance affecting a larger number of cases in the country,” said CJP Khosa.
Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) members Ahsan Bhoon and Azam Tarar appeared before the bench and stated that the bar wants to become a party to the case.
However, the matter has been postponed as the petitioner requested to file a fresh plea in the case.
Currently, the sentence of life imprisonment corresponds to a maximum imprisonment of 25 years, and a minimum of 15 years (per Rule 140 of the Pakistan Prison Rules 1978), after earning remissions as may be extended by the executive functionaries from time-to-time but subject to Section 401 CrPC, Rule 216 and Rule 218 of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.