The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Monday approved several amendments to criminal law, including proposals to make acid attacks punishable by death, criminalize the abuse of domestic workers, unauthorized LPG decanting and the wrongful detention of the dead by hospitals.
Chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, the committee considered and passed a number of private members’ bills despite opposition from State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill moved by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir, sought amendments to Section 336B of the Pakistan Penal Code, pertaining to hurt caused by corrosive substances. Citing an acid attack on a doctor in Quetta, it proposed punishment of “death or imprisonment for life or imprisonment of not less than 14 years and a fine of Rs. 2 million” to establish deterrence against the crime.
The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, moved by Senator Sarmad Ali, was similarly approved to criminalize the abuse of domestic workers. It noted that domestic workers are among society’s most vulnerable segments and often suffer physical violence, sexual abuse, forced labor and other forms of mistreatment by employers. Noting that existing provisions did not specifically address abuse arising from the dependency and control inherent in domestic work settings, it proposes imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs. 100,000, with offenses resulting in serious injury or death carrying life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs. 500,000.
The proposed legislation also seeks to make the offense non-bailable and triable by a session court.
Another amendment approved by the panel was moved by Senator Shahadat Awan and seeks to amend Sections 286 and 286A of the PPC to criminalize the unauthorized transfer of LPG into smaller cylinders over safety concerns. It seeks to increase the punishment under Section 286 from six months to two years and raise the fine from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 100,000. Under Section 286A, it seeks to increase imprisonment from two to five years, and the fine from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 500,000.
Additionally, the committee passed an amendment moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri seeking the insertion of a new Section 338CA to make the “wrongful detention of dead body” a punishable offense. The proposed legislation cited several reports of private hospitals detaining bodies of deceased patients until their families settled outstanding medical bills, noting such practices caused immense psychological harm to grieving families and denied the deceased the right to timely burial and dignified last rites. It emphasized that the inviolability of human dignity did not end with death.
The legislation seeks to impose punishment of up to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of Rs. 500,000 for a first offense, with the sentence rising to up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of Rs. 1 million with the second offense.