EDITORIAL: A recently announced Supreme Court judgement in a case filed by a death row inmate — who had to wait seven years for a first hearing — has once again highlighted a deeply troubling reality within our judicial system.
In a verdict authored by Justice Athar Minallah, the three-member bench observed that the abysmal conditions in the country’s overcrowded prisons contribute to unimaginable suffering of prisoners, particularly those on death row. The judgement described these conditions as “a form of unauthorised punishment not intended by the legislature.”
Few cases better illustrate the tragic consequences of judicial delay than that of Ghulam Sarwar and Ghulam Qadir — two brothers convicted of murder and later exonerated by the Supreme Court in 2016, a full year after they had already been hanged.
The fact that the country’s highest court declared them innocent only after their execution is not just a tragedy; it is a damning indictment of our judicial system.
Justice Minallah rightly acknowledged that the judiciary bears responsibility when appeals are allowed to languish for years beyond any reasonable timeframe. This is particularly serious in capital punishment cases, where such delays not only prolong psychological and emotional suffering but can result in irreversible miscarriages of justice.
A system that subjects individuals — many of whom may be innocent or victims of flawed trials — to years of uncertainty, fear, and inhumane prison conditions must be questioned not only for its efficiency but for its very morality.
A seven-year delay in the first hearing of a death row appeal reflects more than just inefficiency. It exposes systemic dysfunction, institutional complacency, and a profound lack of accountability.
The end result is a justice system that often serves the powerful swiftly, while the poor and vulnerable are left to endure neglect, and suffering. In a country where wrongful convictions are far from rare, delays in appellate review also deny prisoners the opportunity to present new evidence or contest flawed prosecutions.
Yet across all levels of Pakistan’s judiciary, chronic case backlogs, under-resourced and understaffed courts, and poor coordination between judicial and prison authorities — exemplified in the case of the Ghulam brothers — have created an environment where justice is not merely delayed; it is in fact often denied.
In a powerful and much-needed reminder, Justice Minallah has given voice to the millions who remain powerless and unheard. He warned that a weak and compromised criminal justice system not only undermines the rule of law, but also encourages corruption, authoritarianism, and the unchecked dominance of the privileged.
When the judicial system fails to protect the innocent — or worse, contributes to their “unauthorised punishment” — it loses the moral legitimacy on which its authority depends.
Unfortunately, however, apart from a few commendable exceptions, those in positions of authority seem to have little interest in safeguarding citizens’ constitutional rights to justice and liberty. Without urgent reform and meaningful accountability, such miscarriages of justice will continue, pointing to a deeply broken system.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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