Life Imprisonment Cannot Be Reduced Below 15 Years Through Remission: FCCP
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - September 30, 2026) | The Federal Constitutional Court has held that under Rule 217(ii) of the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978, the actual period of imprisonment of a life convict cannot be reduced below 15 years through accumulated remission.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Rozi Khan Barech and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah made this observation while dismissing Federal Constitutional Court Petition for Leave to Appeal (FCPLA) filed by Saba Khan.
Key Points:
- Remission beyond legal limits cannot create an enforceable legal right.
- The remission system must be strictly within the framework of the law and prison rules.
- General and special remissions under Rule 217 could ordinarily not exceed one-third of the sentence for a life convict.
- In such cases, remission cannot reduce the actual period of imprisonment below 15 years.
Saba Khan had been sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302. According to prison authorities, she had served nine years and four months while receiving 15 years and seven months of remission, leaving only five months and 23 days of imprisonment. The Court held this calculation inconsistent with the mandatory requirements of the Pakistan Prison Rules as it reduced the actual period below 15 years.
The Court emphasized that a life convict must serve at least 15 years unless their sentence is formally altered by a competent authority under constitutional or statutory powers. Remission was deemed not an unlimited administrative discretion and required adherence to the Pakistan Prison Rules, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and other relevant laws.
The petition was dismissed as being without merit.