ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Friday approved four bills, including one seeking separation of the judiciary and the district administration in Islamabad.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, which met with Senator Mohsin Aziz in the chair, also discussed a number of other bills.

Besides the committee members, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, senior officials from the interior ministry and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration participated in the meeting.

The committee discussed the draft ‘Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2021’ which seeks amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898 to end judicial powers enjoyed by bureaucrats in Islamabad.

The mover of the bill, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, told the committee that the exercise of judicial powers by the district administration was in conflict with Article 175 (3) of the Constitution.

Mover says judicial powers of administration officers in conflict with Article 175(3) of Constitution; Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2021 approved

He said one day the officers of the district administration take administrative action against individuals, register an FIR, arrest them and the very next day become judge and sit in court and acquit, impose fine and send people to jail.

Senator Siddiqui explained how he was arrested in 2019 under the tenancy law and remanded for 14 days in Adiala jail.

He said judicial powers of the administration had been abolished in all the four provinces but the 124-year-old imperialist law was still enforced in Islamabad.

Representatives of the interior ministry and the district administration said the government was introducing a package to change the criminal law. This package will also solve the problem.

On this, Senator Siddiqui said it was not known how long it would take for the government package to become a law.

Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said he had seen the details of the entire package and there was no mention of the issue raised by Senator Siddiqui.

An officer of the district administration said the matter was already in court.

Senators Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Sarfraz Bugti, Fauzia Arshad and Rana Maqbool Ahmed were of the view that no court could stop parliament from legislation.

Senator Siddiqui said the bill was in the interest of the administration as after its implementation the officers would be able to give their full attention to administrative matters and no one would be able to coerce them into making decisions against anyone by putting pressure on them.

The committee chairman, Mohsin Aziz, rejected the objections of the administration and the government and sought the opinion of the senators who unanimously approved the bill.

After submission of the committee’s report, the Criminal Code 1898 (Amendment) Act will be presented in the Senate for approval.

Decriminalisation of attempted suicide

The committee also approved the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2021, seeking omission of section 325 of Pakistan Penal Code 1860.

The bill’s mover, Senator Shahadat Awan, said the survivors of suicide attempts had to face criminal police proceedings rather than proper medical and physiological treatment and during this process, many survivors lost their lives. He said suicide was a big sin which no normal person would attempt.

The mover sought omission of section 325 from the Pakistan Penal Code. The section says: “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

Senator Tarar said in many countries there was no action against the survivors and in Pakistan families of the survivors of suicide attempts opted to skip medical treatment to avoid police action.

In the statement of object and reason for the bill, the mover said: “Suicide is the act of killing oneself, most often as a result of depression or other mental illness. According to a study, there is one completed suicide in every 40 seconds while five per cent of people in the world try to kill themselves at least once during their lifetime. Around 79pc suicides are from low or middle income countries.”

Despite the crucial nature of suicide and reasons behind it, section 325 incriminates the person committing it and prescribes the sentence of simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine or with both.

The issue of suicide ought to be dealt as a disease.

Additionally, punishment is meant to create deterrence for a healthy person not for a mentally disturbed individual.

“The objective of this amendment is to decriminalise a suicide attempt by any person as it is always done with some depression or mental illness or disorders,” read the bill.

After hearing view points of committee members, the committee passed the bill unanimously.

It also passed two other bills moved by Senator Shahadat Awan - The Registration (Amendment ) Bill 2021 and Consideration of the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act 1933.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2022