The farce of justice

This refers to the article, ‘The farce of justice’ by Ayesha Siddique Khan (August 24). As far as lifting the moratorium on the death penalty is concerned, it was much needed, particularly after the brutal attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. This point is very well explained in the article, ‘The force of law’ (August 24) by Dr Faqir Hussain. In her well-written article, Khan has relied on a SC judgement, the correct citation of which is (2015 SCMR 258). “In a recent Supreme Court judgement in Mohammad Arshad v The State, the apex court distinguished this case from the earlier precedent set in Hassan v The State (PLD 2013 793) and Dilawar Hussain v The State ( 2013 SCMR 1582), ruling that double jeopardy in itself is not sufficient to commute a death sentence.”
First, protection against double-jeopardy is enshrined in the constitution and no court can deviate from it. Second, the case cited by the writer nowhere holds that double-jeopardy is not sufficient to commute a death sentence. Rather the apex court held that Muhammad Arshad v The State is by no means a case of double-jeopardy, rather it is a continuation of trial to a superior court. Double-jeopardy means trying an accused person twice for the same allegation or crime. In this case neither was the accused convicted, nor acquitted. Moreover, the court distinguished the other two cases and held that “supra long detention was not the sole ground to reduce the sentence of the accused. This factor coupled with other circumstances was the reason which inclined this court to reduce the sentence of the accused”. These cases and other similar ones are classic examples of delayed justice. The writer is right to say that our criminal justice system needs major reforms.
Muhammad Kashif
Peshawar