Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said the “basic purpose” of the suo motu jurisdiction was for it to be exercised in the public interest instead of for an individual.

The Supreme Court is empowered to take suo motu notice — cognisance of a matter on its own — which it deems is in the public interest and commences proceedings on it.

Talking to the media outside Lahore’s Central Jail, known as Kot Lakhpat Jail, after visiting the facility and enquiring about the conditions of prisoners while talking with them, the prime minister questioned how many times the court took suo motu notice of the issues pertaining to prisons and their inmates.

“Did you ask jail officials how many prisoners they have because the basic purpose of a suo motu notice is the public interest — not an individual’s.

“How many suo motu [notices] were taken regarding issues such as justice with prisoners and their betterment.”

The premier said there were 4,000 prisoners in Lahore Central Jail, 50,000 in Punjab and hundreds of thousands across the country.

“There are thousands of such prisoners who can be immediately released in accordance with the law. How much work have the courts done regarding this? These are the questions which the nation asks of me and all institutions.”

He reiterated that the suo motu jurisdiction was solely meant for issues pertaining to the public interest, adding that “there can be no other purpose made out for the suo motu notice — neither does the Constitution allow it nor the law.”

The prime minister’s remarks come days after the Supreme Court pre-emptively halted the implementation of a bill that would curtail the chief justice’s solo powers to take suo motu notices and form benches. The Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Bill, 2023, which had sailed through parliament, technically became law recently despite the president’s refusal to assent to it.

The bill was moved in the backdrop of an intensifying clash between the government and the apex court over its order for the government allocate finances for elections in Punjab in May 14, which has since snowballed into a parliament-judiciary disagreement.

The government had then referred the matter to the National Assembly, which refused to agree to grant the election commission funds to hold elections. The court has most recently, asked the government and opposition to develop a consensus for elections while stressing that it cannot backtrack on the May 14 date. It will resume hearing the matter after the Eid holidays on April 26.

‘Unsanitary’

Speaking of his visit to the prison today, the prime minister highlighted the sanitary conditions, waste disposal and toilet facilities available to prisoners and lamented their current state.

He stressed that an overhaul of this system to ensure cleanliness and hygiene was the responsibility of prison officials and the government.

PM Shehbaz suggested a number of measures to improve standards at the prison during his media talk. He said he had requested the relevant officials to form a plan for the prison’s improvement which would soon be approved.

The premier also called for the successful integration of prisoners into society after their release and said they should be provided education and skills to prevent them from falling into crime again, adding that they should be turned into productive citizens.

PM Shehbaz also interacted with the prisoners and distributed Eid gifts among them. The prisoners shared their issues with the prime minister who instructed the relevant authorities to take up their cases with the relevant ministries and institutions.

Additional input from the Associated Press of Pakistan.