LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought reports from the Punjab home secretary and the inspector general of prisons on a habeas corpus petition challenging detention of a man even after completion of his sentence handed down for involvement in an attack on ex-president Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

Saira Khan filed the petition through Advocate Mujahid Waseem and contended that her son Adnan Khan had undergone his jail term handed down by a military court, but the authorities were not ready to release him.

During the course of arguments, the counsel told the court that the military court that handed down 15-year term to the petitioner’s son did not give him the benefit of reduction in the imprisonment under Section 382-B of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The section says the length of any sentence of imprisonment imposed on an accused in respect of any offence shall be treated as reduced by any period during which he was detained in custody for such offence.

The lawyer said the convict was arrested in 2003 but deprived of the benefit of the said provision in the law.

He pointed out that 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 give the benefit to the civilian convict.

Advocate Waseem said the government challenged the decision before the Supreme Court but its appeal was dismissed. Therefore, he said, the convict was detained in jail illegally as he had already undergone the sentence.

He asked the court to order the jail authorities to release the petitioner’s son.

Justice Shahid Hameed Dar heard the arguments and sought replies from the home secretary and IG prisons by Sept 5.

The former president and ex-army chief Gen Musharraf had escaped an attempt on his life on Dec 14, 2003, near Jhanda Chichi bridge, Rawalpindi. Seven of the 12 convicts have been executed in Musharraf attack case so far.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2016