On November 30, 2020, a case was registered at Koral police station in Islamabad on the complaint of Allah Rakha Masih, in which it was stated that the accused Shahzad alias Shani used to molest his 24-year-old daughter Sonia, who worked in a private office in Islamabad, and this matter continued for five months.
He took the stand in the case that the accused, Shahzad alias Shani, wanted to marry his daughter and after five months he sent his mother to Sonia’s house for a relationship.
According to the plaintiff, since he was a Christian and the accused was a Muslim, the plaintiff refused to marry his daughter to the accused due to the lack of religious compatibility.
According to the police FIR, the accused was upset about this and threatened to kill Sonia. On November 30, 2020, when Sonia was at the bus stop to go to the office, the accused came there with his other associates Faizan and Saba Shahryar and fired at Sonia with a 30 bore pistol, which hit her directly on the head, killing her on the spot.
Immediately after the case was registered, the police arrested the accused and the empty bullet shell found at the scene matched the pistol recovered from the accused.
After the police presented the challan in this case, the accused were indicted on June 15, 2022, and then the statement of the main accused in this case, Shahzad alias Shani, was also recorded under Section 342 of the Criminal Code.
In this case, 14 witnesses were presented who not only had their statements recorded but were also cross-examined by the lawyers appearing on behalf of the main accused in the case.
After the completion of the court proceedings, the trial court sentenced the accused, Shahzad alias Shani, to 25 years in prison under Section 302C of the Pakistan Penal Code, after being found guilty, while acquitting the other two accused, giving them the benefit of doubt.
However, recently, the convict, Shahzad alias Shani, has challenged the court’s decision to sentence him to 25 years in the Islamabad High Court.
The Islamabad High Court has accepted the appeal of the convict in the murder case of a Christian girl against the sentence of 25 years instead of life imprisonment, annulling the trial court’s decision and sending the case back to the trial court.
The court has ordered the trial court, i.e. the Additional Sessions Judge of Islamabad, to hear the case and give a decision within 45 days.
What did the court say in the decision?
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Islamabad High Court Judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiani, while hearing the verdict on the appeal filed by convict Shahzad alias Shani against the decision from Adiala Jail, wrote that it is surprising to him how the convict was sentenced to 25 years in prison without being sentenced to death or life imprisonment in a murder case.
The court said in its decision that under Section 302B of the Pakistan Penal Code, the punishment for culpable homicide, that is, murder committed with intent, is death, or if there are circumstances that do not warrant the death penalty, then life imprisonment is imposed.
The court said in its decision that it appears that the trial court in this case has sentenced the accused under Section 302C of the Criminal Code, and this law applies in cases where the law of diyat is not applicable.
Islamabad High Court Judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani said that prima facie, this law does not apply in the decision of this case and in light of the evidence etc. that has been presented, this case should be decided under Section 302B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The court wrote in its decision that if the circumstances are such or evidence is presented that it appears that the death penalty for the accused in a murder case is not warranted, then the sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment.
- The court said that if the trial court fails to state the reasons for the conviction in any case, it is the responsibility of the appellate court to remit such case to the trial court.
The court wrote in its decision that in a murder case, the trial court must mention the reasons in light of which the court did not sentence the accused to death.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar said in the judgment that the entire trial court decision failed to explain the 25-year sentence. The appellant’s lawyer and the State Council could not provide any justifiable reason when asked about the 25-year sentence. The trial court could not justify the 25-year sentence in the final paragraph.
The Islamabad High Court suspended the decision of the Additional Sessions Judge and remitted the case to the trial court, saying this would give both parties an opportunity to be heard again.
The court also said in its decision that the Sessions Court should announce its decision in this case within 45 days and inform the Islamabad High Court.
In Pakistan, a life sentence is considered to be 25 years, and by including day and night in this sentence, the sentence becomes 12 and a half years.
Life imprisonment law in Pakistan
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According to legal experts, there is still ambiguity about the law on life imprisonment in Pakistan, while in other countries, if a criminal is sentenced to life imprisonment, it means that the criminal will spend the rest of his life in prison.
According to Pakistan’s Prison Rules 1978, if a criminal is sentenced, it means that the criminal will spend 25 years in prison.
It should be noted that former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Asif Saeed Khosa had heard a petition for determining the sentence of life imprisonment, but the matter could not reach its logical conclusion. The then Chief Justice’s position was that if someone is sentenced to life imprisonment or a sentence of five or ten years, then one day should be counted as one day.
Why did the Islamabad High Court send this case back to the trial court?
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Iftikhar Sherwani, a lawyer who prosecutes criminal cases, told the BBC that the Islamabad High Court’s sole purpose in sending the case back to the trial court was to decide the case under Section 302B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
He said that the Supreme Court judge also has the authority to amend the trial court’s decision and impose the sentence under Section 302B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
He said that generally the trial court pronounces a verdict under Section 302C of the Pakistan Penal Code so that it is included along with other punishments. He said that the court has the power to sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period ranging from 10 days to 10 years and a maximum of 25 years, if found guilty under this law.
Iftikhar Sherwani said that the fact that the Islamabad High Court has sent the murder case to the relevant court does not mean that the case will be retried or that witnesses will be called again, but rather that the trial court will only decide on the issue of the sentence to be given in this case after hearing the parties.
He said that there is also Section 302A of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with Qisas, and it is applicable when the accused confesses his crime in the trial court and then the witnesses also support his confession.
Iftikhar Sherwani said that in this regard, a standard has also been set for witnesses in the law, and only if the witnesses meet this standard, then their testimony is accepted. He said that in the judicial history of Pakistan, there was no such murder case in which the decision was pronounced under Section 302A of the Pakistan Penal Code.
‘The criminal’s sentence has not been suspended, but the issue of reduction in sentence has been raised’
Hassan Abbas, who appears as a public prosecutor in criminal cases, including murder, in the Sessions Court, says that the Islamabad High Court did not suspend the sentence of the convict in this case, but rather raised the issue of reducing the sentence.
He said that the decision in this murder case was given by the sessions judge. He said that when the case is remanded, the witnesses will not be called again and the trial court will seek arguments from the parties on reducing or increasing the sentence.
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