Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that suo motu jurisdiction should be exercised in the public interest rather than to benefit an individual, questioning how many times the court took suo motu notice of the issues pertaining to prisons and their inmates.
Talking to the media outside Lahore’s Central Jail, the premier said “suo motu notice can be taken by the Supreme Court on matters that it deems to be in the public interest.
“Did you ask jail officials how many prisoners they have because the basic purpose of a suo motu notice is the public interest — not an individual’s.
“How many suo motu [notices] were taken regarding issues such as justice with prisoners and their betterment.”
The premier said there were 4,000 prisoners in Lahore Central Jail, 50,000 in Punjab and hundreds of thousands across the country.
He was visiting the facility to enquire about the conditions of prisoners.
During the jail’s visit, he ordered the Punjab authorities to immediately chalk out a plan to establish dedicated hospitals in jails for the medical treatment of the prisoners and provide quality sanitation services.
The prime minister directed the Punjab chief secretary to make a plan for a dedicated hospital in the jail within a week.
“If succeeded, the project would be expanded across the country,” he added.
