The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a 74-year-old Christian man who spent nearly 23 years in prison, most of them on death row, in a blasphemy case, citing his long-term mental illness and the principle of the benefit of doubt.
According to the detailed nine-page judgment authored by Justice Athar Minallah, the bench—which also included Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan—set aside the earlier verdicts issued by the trial court (2002) and the Lahore High Court (2014). The court ordered that the man, Anwar Kenneth, be released immediately if not required in any other case.
“The appellant, aged over seventy-four, has spent around twenty-three years in confinement, much of it in the death cell. The medical board’s opinion raises serious doubt about his culpability, and the benefit of that doubt must be extended to him,” the verdict stated.
The court further directed the Executive Director of the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) to ensure that Kenneth’s treatment continues after his release.
Background of the Case
The case originated from a First Information Report (FIR) filed on September 28, 2001, at Gawalmandi Police Station, Lahore, under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, following a complaint by Inspector Nasrullah Khan Niazi. The complaint alleged that Kenneth had written a blasphemous letter dated August 27, 2001, addressed to Haji Mehmood Zafar.
Kenneth was arrested in September 2001, and after pleading guilty in June 2002, he was sentenced to death and fined Rs 500,000. The Lahore High Court later upheld the death sentence in 2014. His appeal reached the Supreme Court, which granted leave to appeal in 2017, but the case remained pending for years.
Medical Examination and Findings
Following directives from the Supreme Court, the Punjab Institute of Mental Health conducted a detailed psychiatric evaluation. The medical board, comprising eight specialists, diagnosed Kenneth with Bipolar Affective Disorder (hypomanic stage) in December 2024. It noted that his behavior and writings exhibited classic symptoms such as delusions of grandeur, hallucinations, and disordered thinking.
The court observed that despite his evident mental instability, neither the prosecution nor the trial court had arranged a psychiatric examination at the time of trial.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court held that the contents of the letter and Kenneth’s behavior during proceedings demonstrated that he was not of sound mind when the alleged offence was committed. The bench criticized the lack of medical assessment during earlier proceedings, calling it a significant procedural lapse.
Ultimately, the apex court extended the benefit of doubt, acquitted Kenneth of all charges, and ordered his immediate release, emphasizing the need for continued medical supervision and humane treatment.
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The court observed that despite his evident mental instability, neither the prosecution nor the trial court had arranged a psychiatric examination at the time of trial.
According to social scientists no man or the people in (ordinary living) conditions go for such an abusive or the wrong doing and their such activities are witnessed that the man or the people doing such things are gone disordered because of any thing that needed to be examined and given well treatment rather booking the patients for legal proceedings.The honorable court examined the very issue and noted the very issue that had been ignored at first and the man suffered his life in the jail rather being a man(insan) he deserved for examination by the expertise and then treated because it is commonly believed that all the people do not go for the wrong thing unless otherwise they are caught in disorder but here in the third world we do not have such a culture and always look busy in booking the alleged whether he/she is mentally sick or not and needed the state help.
So jailing and wasting 23 years of someone life is ok ? Compensate him