- — section 30 — Prisons Rules, 1978 — Rules 329-332 — prisoner ‘under sentence of death’ — condemned prisoner — proposition of — procedure to lodge the prisoners “under sentence of death” — shifting to death cell — when and how — every prisoner under sentence of death’ shall immediately on his arrival in the prison, be search by and all articles shall be taken from him, which the Deputy Superintendent deems it dangerous or inexpedient to leave in his possession — such prisoner shall be confined in a cell apart from others and shall be placed by day and by night under the charge of a guard — Held: a prisoner becomes condemned prisoner only when the sentence of death awarded becomes final, conclusive etc. — a prisoner will be said to be a condemned prisoner only when the sentence of death awarded to him becomes executable — a prisoner can be said to be under sentence of death only when the death sentence is beyond judicial scrutiny — till then the prisoner awarded with capital punishment cannot be said a prisoner under sentence of death — shifting a prisoner to death cell amounts to ‘solitary confinement’ which is a separate punishment and a Court can alone impose the same — Section 30(2) does not empower the jail authorities in the garb of confining a prisoner under sentence of death in a cell apart from other prisoners, to impose solitary confinement — further Held: a prisoner will be said a “condemned prisoner” or “prisoner under sentence of death” when and only when, the capital punishment becomes capable of execution — directed that in future only those prisoners will be admitted to death cell whose sentence becomes final, conclusive and indefeasible. Ghaffar Hussain v. The State & others 2023 SCR 72 (A,B,C &D) PLD 2010 FSC 1, relied
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