The Supreme Court, in a case involving the death of a citizen in custody, confirmed that the State has a duty to protect the “right to life” of citizens and to prevent violence and murders in custody, it emerged on Saturday.
The case concerns the custodial murder of Zaryab Khan, who was arrested in 2020 in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, and later died in police custody. It is alleged that two officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) tortured the detainee and caused his death in custody. They were later acquitted by a criminal court, but were dismissed from service by the regional police officer for misconduct. Subsequently, they filed an appeal with the TS, arguing that the dismissal is “unfounded” if they have been acquitted in the case.
In a seven-page judgment, written by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, SC dismissed the petitions and upheld the earlier ruling.
“The Constitution imposes on the State the duty to protect the right to life of all citizens and prevent violence and murders in custody.”
The ruling, a copy of which is available along with Sunrise – is dated August 21.
“The right to life has been listed as the supreme human right, codified in all major human rights treaties,” Judge Mandokhail stressed.
“These constitutional guarantees against illegal detention, arrest, brutality, torture and extrajudicial executions in any form are legal and fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution; therefore, illegal detention and torture are not encouraged or justified under any circumstances,” he said.
Judge Mandokhail ruled that “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including attacks on personal dignity, are not permitted under any circumstances as they run counter to human dignity and the rule of law.”
He pointed out that sometimes “torture leads to extrajudicial executions by the police, presuming de facto impunity and as a means to carry out [the] “alleged offender brought to justice.”
The judge also called for “effective, dedicated and external” oversight of the police, calling it “the need of the hour.”
Judge Mandokhail highlighted that, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), “everyone has rights and freedom without discrimination, including the right to life, liberty and security of the person, and to protection from torture, slavery and degrading treatment.”
Citing Article 4 of the Constitution, the ruling declared that “no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law.”
“The protection of the law and being treated in accordance with the law is the inalienable right of every citizen,” Judge Mandokhail ruled.
He went on to say: “Article 10 of the Constitution provides safeguards regarding the arrest and detention of a person.
“It provides that no arrested person shall be detained in custody without being informed of the reasons for such arrest and shall be produced before the magistrate within a period of 24 hours after such arrest.”
Justice Mandokhail, citing Article 14 of the Constitution, further stated that it stipulates that “the dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of the home shall be inviolable. It further requires that no person shall be subjected to torture.”
He stressed that the individual must be allowed due process, calling it a “fundamental right.”
Justice Mandokhail noted that “the police force is the guardian of the law” and as a guardian, it had a duty to “preserve the framework of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.”
“It is intended to provide security and protect the life, freedom and dignity of the person,” he stressed.
“When a government official harms a person without respecting the law, this not only constitutes a violation of fundamental rights, but also violates due process of law, guaranteed by the Constitution,” Judge Mandokhail said in the ruling.
However, he stressed that although “it cannot be denied that the police [have] the authority to arrest any person who violates the law, but such action without adopting the due process provided by the Constitution and the law, and without treating said person [inhumanely]cruelly and subjecting that person to torture constitutes not only a criminal act, but also misconduct.”
The judge ruled that the police officers had acted in breach of their duty under the law “by illegally detaining Zaryab Khan and subjecting him to torture”.
The act amounted to “abuse of authority” falling within the definition of serious misconduct, defined in sub-rule (iii) of Rule 2 of the 1975 Rules.
In October, former Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah called extrajudicial killings, custodial torture and excessive use of force the “most intolerable crimes” in a democratic society, calling them “the worst form of violation” of the Constitution.
According to data collected by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Punjab has witnessed more than 500 alleged encounters since January 2025, resulting in more than 670 deaths, a higher figure than any other province.
