b JUVENILITY PLEAS ARE ONLY ENTERTAINED AT THE "CORRECT" STAGE OF PROCEEDINGS The Government of Pakistan in its replies to the list of issues outlined by the CRC Committee to the fifth periodic report claimed that “the information such as ‘age’ can be presented or corrected at different stages i.e., i) initial statement at the time of arrest, ii) arrest certificate (huliya form), iii) first version of statements recorded under Section 161 of Cr.PC, iv) initial entry in police diary (zimni), v) recording of statements under Section 164 of Cr.PC, vi) recording of evidence, vii) statements of accused person under Sections 340 and 342 of Cr. P.C., viii appeal to High Court, ix) reference/appeal/revision petitions at Supreme Court of Pakistan.” Contrary to the Government’s claim, courts have ruled in several cases that a plea of juvenility is only admissible if it is raised at the time of investigation and trial and that a delayed claim “must be visited with an adverse inference against [the accused].” 59 As a result, courts in Pakistan refuse to admit evidence of juvenility if raised at the appellate stages or during post-conviction reviews. The Supreme Court of Pakistan in Muhammad Raheel v. The State stated that “accused had never claimed at any stage of the trial that he was a child, he had never agitated before the High Court that he was a juvenile, and he had led no evidence before any court regarding his date of birth. Any belated attempt made by the appellant in this regard before the Supreme Court may not be met with approval or acceptance.” In the Muhammad Aslam v. The State(PLD 2009 SC 777), the Supreme Court similarly opined that “such a plea must be taken by the accused at the earlier possible opportunity preferably during the course of investigation so that the requisite evidence about the age of accused could also be properly collected during the said exercise of collection of evidence and any delayed claim on the said account should be met by adverse inferences.” 60 The unwillingness of the superior judiciary to entertain inquiries into age during the appellate stages of a case or even after the appeals have been concluded has certainly led to the execution of a number of juveniles. Faisal Mahmood was initially sentenced to life imprisonment for a crime committed when he was just 17 years old. His trial was conducted prior to the introduction of the JJSO and no specific mention of his age was mentioned in the trial judgment. Following an appeal to the High Court by the victim’s family, however, Mr Mahmood’s sentence was increased to death. At an appeal before the Supreme Court, Mr Mahmood’s counsel, supported by the Deputy Prosecutor General, argued that since Mr Mahmood was seventeen at the time of the trial, his sentence should not be increased. The Supreme Court did not challenge the fact that he was seventeen at the time of his arrest but stated that since his “minority” had not been raised at the original trial he should not receive the benefit of the JJSO. Furthermore, the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 187 grants the Supreme Court of Pakistan “the power to issue such directions, orders or decrees as may be necessary for doing complete justice in any case or in any matter before it.” In its Initial Report to the Human Rights Committee regarding its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) report, submitted on 19 October 2015, the Government of Pakistan stated that under Pakistan’s Constitution a conviction could be reversed on the basis of information which surfaces after conviction. The relevant paragraph of the report reads: Information which surfaces after conviction may be placed before a court under Articles 199 and 187 of the Constitution, and coupled with the courts inherent power to recall an order passed mistakenly, a conviction may be reversed. [emphasis added] 61 This problem is further compounded by the extremely short notice period permitted between the issuance of a Muhammed Raheel v. The State (PLD 2015 SC 145); Baber Shahzad v. The State (2007 YLR 2151) [Lahore] Para 11 Supra note 23, para.136 59 60 61 DEATH ROW’S CHILDREN 28