HABEAS CORPUS AND THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL LIBERTY IN PAKISTAN: CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS, JUDICIAL PRACTICE, AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

Abstract

The literal interpretation of habeas corpus is that you have the body, which is a fundamental legal tool for safeguarding human beings. of unlawful custody by demanding a custody holder to hand over a detainee before a court and must substantiate the legality of the detention. Historical basis on the Anglo-American legal tradition. and fortified by statutory reforms like the Habeas Corpus Act of England of 1679, the remedy has become a contemporary constitutional guarantee in most common-law jurisdictions. Habeas corpus in Pakistan has no single named provision, but it is a stratified remedial. structure: (i) constitutional jurisdiction of High Courts in Article 199(1)(b)(i), (ii) statutory. under section 491 of the code of criminal procedure 1898, and (iii) the Supreme. Article 184(3) of the original jurisdiction of court to make orders of the nature stated in Article 199 in things of general significance relating to exercising of fundamental rights. This paper investigates the doctrinal history of habeas corpus, follows the inheritance of the same in Pakistan and. constitutionalized the remedy, and assesses its practical application in the categories of police. correctional detention, domestic custody issues (including minors), preventive detention regimes, and the complicated area of forced disappearance. Based on textual statutes, constitutional the paper claims that, based on the provisions, institutional reports, and recent international observations, the habeas corpus structure in Pakistan is still at the center of liberty safeguarding yet limited by. structural enforcement gaps particularly in situations whereby the state agencies deny custody or parallel situations. commissions/internment structures (forums) water down the fact-finding of the judiciary. The study concludes with reform plans to enhance compliance, transparency, and accountability. and without failure to the rapid and efficient application of the writ. Keywords: habeas corpus; Article 199; Article 184(3); Section 491 CrPC; fundamental rights; illegal arrest; preemptive arrest; forced disappearances; Pakistani constitutional law.