Federal Shariat Court admits plea against decriminalizing suicide attempt

• FSJ admits plea against decriminalizing suicide attempt.
• It called for nullifying the repeal of Section 325.
• The petitioner said committing suicide was against Islamic injunctions.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Shariat Court (FSC) admitted a petition for hearing seeking the nullification of an amendment to the Criminal Laws Act decriminalizing suicide attempt.

In December last year, President Dr Arif Alvi approved the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2022, which repealed Section 325 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, on punishment for attempt to commit suicide.

“Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both,” the law read.

Advocate Hammad Saeed Dar challenged the legal amendment, arguing that it was against the injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. “Suicide has been declared haram (forbidden) in Islam,” the petition said. It added that prior to the amendment, suicide was a crime in the law of Pakistan.

It said that the blessing of life is not only a gift but also a trust from Allah Al-Mighty. It added that decriminalization of suicide is against Islam and Islamic teachings.

The petitioner argued that it was the state’s responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens and Section 325 was enacted to deter those attempting to end their life by killing themselves, thus decriminalizing suicide went against Islam’s teachings.

The petition pleaded that the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2022 be “declared repugnant” to the injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

The court accepted the petition for hearing. The court issued a written order on the plea after the preliminary hearing was held a day earlier. The court issued notices to the president, prime minister and the law ministry as the respondents named in the plea.

In December 2022, President Dr Arif Alvi approved the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, abolishing the punishment for attempted suicide in the country.

According to the announcement issued by the President House, Alvi approved the bill, repealing Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, which deals with penalizing suicide attempts.

The bill for the amendment was introduced by Senator Shahadat Awan in September 2021, passed in the Senate in May 2022 and by the National Assembly in October 2022.

The Senate had passed the bill to abolish the provision of punishment for those who attempt suicide. The bill was introduced by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and opposed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI).

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