SC acquits mentally unsound blasphemy convicts

Justice Ibrahim was part of a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi which heard the appeals by the two brothers against their death sentence on the charge of blasphemy and later set aside their death sentence.

The verdict said the expert opinion conclusively established that bipolar disorder is inherently episodic in nature, thereby rendering it highly probable that the appellants were labouring under an active manic episode at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.

It said the conclusion is further fortified by the undisputed medical evidence that bipolar disorder possesses a strong genetic component. The bench expected that the PIMH executive director shall ensure that the requisite medical treatment of the appellants is not discontinued.

The order noted that both appellants are brothers and both have been independently diagnosed with the exact same psychiatric condition cannot be dismissed as a mere quirk of fate or post-trial coincidence. "Rather, this shared genetic predisposition provides compelling scientific corroboration that their mental unsoundness was an inherited, pre-existing illness that predated the occurrence.

"The court noted that the appellants have spent around twenty years behind the bars while the opinion of medical board raises doubts regarding the culpability of the appellants, the benefit of doubt cannot be withheld.

The court said that three distinguished members of the Board of Certification on July 6 appeared before the bench and rendered invaluable assistance on the dynamics of this illness. They also submitted a comprehensive report, bipolar affective disorder is an episodic psychiatric illness characterized by symptom-free intervals of variable duration from patient to patient.