LHC: Physical weakness alone can be a ground for bail under criminal law

The Lahore High Court has granted bail to a doctor who was arrested while suffering from Parkinson’s disease, observing that physical frailty is an independent legal reason for relief under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Physical weakness is a separate legal ground for granting bail and is not confined to illness alone, held Justice Amjad Rafiq in an 11 page reported judgement.

The court held that where a medical report from the jail establishes the physical frailty of the prisoner, bail may be granted without assessing the gravity of the sickness. It said bail determinations should be guided by the constitutional principles of human dignity, proportionality and equality.

The verdict was announced while hearing the bail plea filed after the arrest of Dr Iftikhar Ahmed in a case registered at Sabzazar Police Station, Lahore on the charges of medical negligence during a child’s circumcision process.

According to the jail’s medical assessment, the court had found that the accused was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological ailment, and depended on others for walking, talking and doing daily duties.

The court found that jail was providing medical treatment but it was not a reason to reject bail. It found that the notion of physical fragility goes beyond treatable disease to include conditions that preclude a prisoner from enduring the rigours of confinement as an average inmate.

The judgement also noted that physical weakness can be aggravated by poor prison conditions such as inadequate food, unhygienic surroundings, overcrowding and mental stress. It stressed that the constitutional principles of human dignity, equality and proportionality should be borne in mind while hearing bail applications.

Justice, the court said, includes shielding the poor and disabled from undue bodily suffering. In the judgement, judicial precedents from Pakistan, the UK, India, the US and Europe were cited, saying that physical fragility and old age are universally recognised as the most important legal concerns in the bail issues.

The court also said that if a jail medical report confirms a prisoner’s illness or physical weakness, bail may be granted without undue discussion of the nature or severity of the ailment. In the absence of such a report, the court may itself determine the physical health of the accused.

The court accepted the plea and directed the release of Dr Iftikhar Ahmed on post-arrest bail against surety bonds of Rs1 million with the direction not to influence evidence or intimidate witnesses, not to leave the jurisdiction of the court without permission and to relinquish his passport.