Contempt notice issued to Punjab IG Prisons in detention case

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday issued contempt notice to Punjab inspector general of prisons on a contempt of court petition against him for detaining a man despite completing his full sentence in a case of attacking former General (r) Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

Justice Shahid Hameed Dar was hearing contempt petition moved by convict’s mother against the IG prisons for not complying with a previous order of the court wherein jail authorities were asked to recalculate sentence of her son after including all remission granted to prisoners by government and apprise the court of his possible release date.

The petitioner Saira Khan through her counsel Advocate Mujahid Waseem contended that her son Khan had undergone his jail term handed down by a military court but the authorities were delaying his release.

He argued that the IG prisons committed contempt of court by ignoring the order and deserved strict action under contempt of court law.The counsel stated the military court awarded 15-year punishment to Khan but did not give him the benefit of the reduction of imprisonment he underwent prior to issuance of final verdict under Section 382-B of CrPC.

He said the convict was arrested in 2003 but was deprived of the benefit of the said provision of law. He said a single bench of the high court at Rawalpindi had dismissed a petition of the convict to this effect; however, a division bench later allowed his intra court appeal directing the jail authorities to impart benefit of Section 382-B of CrPC and other government remissions to the civilian convict. He said the detention of the convict was illegal as he had already undergone his sentence. He asked the court to order the jail authorities to release the petitioner’s son.The court issued notice to the respondent and directed him to submit his reply within two weeks.