Criminal Appeal 598/2018 (S.B.) Sindh High Court, Karachi

Sindh High Court · 2022 · Before Omar Sial

Saeed Nawaz and Lal Qadir, the appellants, have impugned a judgment dated 3-11-2018 passed by the learned 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Malir, Karachi. In terms of the said judgment, the appellants were convicted for an offence punishable under section 302(b) P.P.C. and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay Rs. 500,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased (or suffer a further period of simple imprisonment of six months in default).

2. What transpired in this case is vague and the details immensely sketchy. However, what is understood from the testimony of Raja Muhammad Abbas is that a police party led by him while on normal patrol duty on 27-10-2016 received information that a couple had been secretly murdered by the girl’s father named Mehboob Ali and that their bodies were buried in the Zafar Town graveyard. He was also told that the murderer was present in Madina Town. The police party reached the identified spot and arrested the persons who were present there – they were; (i) Saeed Nawaz (ii) Sarfraz Khan (iii) Umar Nawaz (iv) Lal Qadir and (v) Hidayatullah.

3. During interrogation, Raja Muhammad Abbas was told by Saeed Nawaz that the deceased girl, Irfana, was his sister and while being married to Nizam, she had an extra marital affair and subsequently eloped with Azmat, who too was married to Ruqaya at that time. About three years later, Azmat’s brother named Shoukat had told Saeed Nawaz that he could tell him where the couple was living. On getting to know the whereabouts of the couple, Saeed Nawaz along with Nizam, Arshad, Umar Nawaz and Lal Qadir went there and held jirga. It was decided that as the couple had dishonored their respective families they should 2 be killed. Consequently, he (i.e. Saeed Nawaz) along with Nizam and Arshad strangulated and killed Irfana. After killing Irfana they took Azmat to Hashim Gardens and also killed him. Upon the disclosure made by Saeed Nawaz, all the accused were arrested and Raja Abbas lodged F.I.R. No. 487 of 2016 under sections 302, 201, 202, 109 and 34 P.P.C. at 1215 p.m. on 27-10-2016.

4. The accused all pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The prosecution examined nine witnesses at trial. In order to prove its case the prosecution examined Zareen Jalal (the father of the deceased Azmat) as its first witness. He testified that on 25-10-2016, 9 persons had come and had taken Azmat away with them by telling him that a jirga will be held to determine as to why Irfana had run away with Azmat. He could however identify only 2 of the 9 i.e. Lal Qadir and Zainullah. According to his testimony he was later told by Lal Qadir that a jirga could not be held but that they had killed the couple in any case and that Zareen could go and pick up their bodies from Hashim Gardens. Zareen Jalal’s testimony was not confidence inspiring. Apart from the fact that most of his testimony is mere hearsay, it is all at odds with the contents of an application purportedly written by him to the Shah Latif Town police station on 26-10-2016, in which he had specifically named, Irfana’s ex-husband Nizam, Shado, Qadir, Faraz, Dado, Umar, Shazia and Zano as the people who had taken away Azmat earlier. He also wrote to the SHO that it was he (Zareen Jalal) who had buried Azmat after he was killed.

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