While disposing of a plea seeking equal facilities for all inmates not-maintainable top court directed the petitioner to invoke jurisdiction of the concerned high court for remedy if found violation of jail rules.
Disposing of the plea on Monday, a constitutional bench of Justice Aminuddin and Justice Jamal Mandokhel observed saying Supreme Court has nothing to do with examining facilities provided to inmates. The bench directed the petitioner to approach the concerned provincial courts if there is any objection to the jail rules.
Earlier, prisoners in Punjab jails have been reported to demand same facilities as those provided to Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Adiala jail. In a letter written to Punjab advocate general, Inspector General prisons submitted saying the prisoners have requested the same privileges as Imran Khan, including six meetings with his lawyers in a day.
According to reports, the prisoners have expressed their discontent with the special treatment given to the former prime minister. They have argued that providing such facilities to one person while denying them to others is a violation of the Prison Rules 1978.
Earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi expressed displeasure over the overcrowding in jails of the country, saying that over 108,000 persons are incarcerated in the prisons originally designed for 66,625 inmates.
Chairing a meeting about improving prison conditions and the welfare of prisoners, the CJP while quoting the Law and Justice Commission said that as many as 36,128 prisoners have been waiting for trial for over a year.
CJP Yahya Afridi said that Punjab province is the most affected by overcrowding in jails with a huge number of 67,837 prisoners being held in facilities meant for 36,365. He was of the view that the large number of prisoners waiting for trial highlights the need for judicial reform.
