RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Tuesday asked prosecutor general (PG) Punjab to submit detailed history of the blasphemy convict who was awarded death sentence in 2001.

Taking up jail petition of the convict Anwar Kaneht, a two-member bench of Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan observed that it is mandatory to get mental condition of the convict examined before implementing the capital punishment.

Kaneht has been behind bars in Toba Tek Singh jail for 16 years soon after a case was registered against him in Lahore during 2001 after which he admitted the offence during the trial. Confession led to death sentence on July 8, 2001 whereas Lahore High Court also maintained the punishment on June 30, 2014.

Anwar Kaneht didn’t engage any lawyer during his trial and confessed the occurrence of the offence even when he was provided state counsel for defence; however, he invoking the apex court’s jurisdiction in the matter through a jail petition completely denied the charge of blasphemy.

During the course of proceedings on Wednesday, the apex court bench observed if Kaneht had committed the crime of blasphemy while he was in sound mental health then there is no way to spare him from the punishment.

The bench was of the view if the law takes its course, no one could dare commit crime of blasphemy, saying if the convict’s mental health was not sound at the time of occurrence of the crime then a medical board would have to be constituted to examine the convict.

Appearing in the matter before the bench, a deputy prosecutor general urged the bench to dismiss the jail petition on the grounds that the subordinate courts had awarded death sentence to the convict upon confession.

He further apprised the court the convict also admitted that he wrote blasphemous letters to then Chief Secretary Punjab, Secretary General of the United Nations and Prime Minister of Israel, adding that Israeli Prime Minister had even responded to the letter.

Terming the convict a clever man, the deputy prosecutor general further said that Anwar being an educated person drafted jail petition, saying such kind of person suffers from fame hunger.

Justice Dost Muhammad Khan observed that before reaching a conclusion it is mandatory to know whether the convict’s mental health was examined while he admitted his offence, adding that there must be a solid ground to end a human life. The hearing of the matter was adjourned for an indefinite period.