The Supreme Court has acquitted two brothers on the death row—who have been languishing in jail for 20 years in a blasphemy case—on acc...
The Supreme Court has acquitted two brothers on the death row—who have been languishing in jail for 20 years in a blasphemy case—on account of their mental illness.
"The report of the eight- and nine-member Board of Certification dated 31.08.2023 and 18.09.2025 establishes that the appellants suffer from bipolar disorder.
"It deprives an individual of the capacity to comprehend the nature, or lawfulness of their actions during active manic episodes," said 7-page judgement authored by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
Justice Ibrahim was part of a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi which heard the appeals by the two brothers against their death sentence on the charge of blasphemy and later set aside their death sentence.
The verdict said the expert opinion conclusively established that bipolar disorder is inherently episodic in nature, thereby rendering it highly probable that the appellants were labouring under an active manic episode at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.
It said the conclusion is further fortified by the undisputed medical evidence that bipolar disorder possesses a strong genetic component.
The bench expected that the PIMH executive director shall ensure that the requisite medical treatment of the appellants is not discontinued.
The order noted that both appellants are brothers and both have been independently diagnosed with the exact same psychiatric condition cannot be dismissed as a mere quirk of fate or post-trial coincidence.
"Rather, this shared genetic predisposition provides compelling scientific corroboration that their mental unsoundness was an inherited, pre-existing illness that predated the occurrence."
The court noted that the appellants have spent around twenty years behind the bars while the opinion of medical board raises doubts regarding the culpability of the appellants, the benefit of doubt cannot be withheld.
The court said that three distinguished members of the Board of Certification on July 6 appeared before the bench and rendered invaluable assistance on the dynamics of this illness.
They also submitted a comprehensive report according to which, bipolar affective disorder is an episodic psychiatric illness characterized by symptom-free intervals of variable duration from patient to patient.
from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/7N92hkl
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