LAHORE: The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) has recommended that the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) be amended in order to stop law-enforcement personnel from causing serious injury to or death of a person to be arrested unless there’s a threat to life of the officer making the arrest.

It has recommended that the CrPC be amended to make it compulsory for police to inform a person of the grounds for his/her arrest.

The LJCP made the recommendations at a meeting on Saturday in Lahore registry of the Supreme Court. The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani.

The proposed amendment to section 46 of the CrPC 1898, with addition of new sub-section 4, says “the police officer or any other person making the arrest shall not use means which may cause death of or grievous bodily injury to the person being arrested unless there is reason to believe that the person to be arrested poses an imminent threat of causing death of or grievous bodily injury either to the police officer or any other person making the arrest”.

Law commission recommends amendments to CrPC

Another proposed amendment (section 54-A) says every person upon arrest by police officer shall be informed of the grounds for his/her arrest.

The commission also approved a proposal regarding addition of a new section (9-A) to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, and recommended that a parent who is unable to maintain himself shall be entitled to claim maintenance money from children.

It further proposed amendments to sections 91 and 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and recommended that suits in respect of public nuisance and public charities might be brought by two or more persons “with the leave of the court in addition to being brought by the advocate general”. The LJCP also recommended that suits under Fatal Accident Act, 1855, shall be brought for the benefit of legal heirs of the deceased.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2014