Unjust Involvement in crimes under jurisdiction of Abetment laws: Section 107, 108 and 109 PPC
During survey of jails in year 1999, the Chairman Insaf Society noticed that numerous people are imprisoned under jurisdiction of abetment law. After interviewing such prisoners, he determined that the law of abetment is being misused by police and public members by alleging innocent persons as instigators, conspirers or planners of the crime. Mr. Mansoor studied sections 107, 108 and 109 of Pakistan Penal Code and compared allegations upon prisoners with factual incidents and found out grey areas and ambiguity of wording in applying the law that was absolutely due to corrupted police. It was determined that the said laws can be misused easily in dragging innocent people into crimes that they never had committed. It was also observed that fraudulent application of abetment law turn the investigation exacerbated and complex due to inherent weakness of the law where dishonest police force do not deliver justice to the public in registering first investigation reports (FIR) on merit that absolutely make the investigation de-tracked.
Therefore, Mr. Mansoor sent a private bill to prime Minister and chairman senate requesting an amendment in sections 107,108 and 109 of PPC whereas its unfair application is causing social injustice. It was probed that police officials always pressurize complainants to include other family members of guilty as planners of the crime in the FIR. Insaf Society also disclosed that large number of innocent women, juveniles and seniors are detained in jails under allegation of abetment due to political rivalries or property disputes and or for sectarian hatred.
Mr. Mansoor proposed that a procedure of adding names of abettors under section 107,108 and 109 of PPC should be amended and reformed. The addition of a name of an abettor in the crime Challan Sheet and detention of such person must be either subject to a confession of the abettor before the court or testimony of the charged person for an abettor’s involvement, authentic four witnesses and or instigation, engagement, conspiracy or intention of aid before the police. The chairman Insaf Society proposed that after verifying their confession, the names of the abettors should be added in the ZIMNI and not in the FIR at the time of the registration of the case.