ISLAMABAD: The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Monday declared the decriminalisation of suicide attempts un-Islamic and struck down the 2022 legislation through which the offence had been removed from the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, Justice Syed Muhammad Anwar, and Justice Amir Khan announced the reserved verdict on two separate petitions challenging amendments introduced through the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022.
The petitions were filed and pursued by Advocates Hammad Hassan Dar and Azam Malik.
The court declared the relevant provisions of the 2022 legislation repugnant to the injunctions of Islam and therefore void.
Under the impugned law, parliament had omitted Section 325 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which previously criminalised attempted suicide.
With the latest judgement, the deleted provision of the PPC stands restored.
According to the short order issued by the court, the FSC held that the state possesses the authority under Islamic injunctions to prohibit and penalise acts that endanger human life, including attempted suicide.
The court observed that Islam unequivocally forbids suicide and places strong emphasis on the sanctity and protection of human life.
It further noted that removing criminal liability for attempted suicide was inconsistent with the constitutional requirement that all laws must conform to Islamic injunctions.
The bench accepted both petitions and ruled that the omission of Section 325 of the PPC through the 2022 amendment would have no legal effect following the judgement.
Before the 2022 amendment, Section 325 prescribed simple imprisonment or a fine for a person attempting suicide.
The provision had been repealed as part of wider criminal law reforms aimed at treating suicide attempts as a mental health issue rather than a criminal offence.