The Supreme Court has ruled that arresting and detaining an individual without any incriminating evidence is a violation of his or her right to dignity.
In its judgement, the top court said: “The human dignity encapsulates the notion that every person has inherent equal worth; no one’s life and liberty are more important than any other person’s. The apex court was hearing a petition pertaining to the practice of detaining individuals by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without incriminate evidence against them.
The case was heard by a three-member bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aminuddin Khan.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by Muhammad Iqbal Khan Noori against a 2019 order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissing his bail application. The arrest was made in a case pertaining to fake bank accounts allegedly used to obtain loans by Parthenon (Pvt) Ltd, Park Lane Estates (Pvt) Ltd and others.
The petitioners had moved the IHC seeking their release on bail till a final decision on the case. Two separate writ petitions were filed, under Article 199 of the Constitution,. The high court rejected the petitions on June 26, 2019.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah mentioned an important maxim in criminal justice: presumption of innocence which is based on the principle that a person is considered innocent until held guilty by a court of law.
In its judgement, the top court said: “The human dignity encapsulates the notion that every person has inherent equal worth; no one’s life and liberty are more important than any other person’s. The apex court was hearing a petition pertaining to the practice of detaining individuals by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without incriminate evidence against them.
The case was heard by a three-member bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aminuddin Khan.
The bench was hearing an appeal filed by Muhammad Iqbal Khan Noori against a 2019 order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissing his bail application. The arrest was made in a case pertaining to fake bank accounts allegedly used to obtain loans by Parthenon (Pvt) Ltd, Park Lane Estates (Pvt) Ltd and others.
The petitioners had moved the IHC seeking their release on bail till a final decision on the case. Two separate writ petitions were filed, under Article 199 of the Constitution,. The high court rejected the petitions on June 26, 2019.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah mentioned an important maxim in criminal justice: presumption of innocence which is based on the principle that a person is considered innocent until held guilty by a court of law.