SHC commutes death sentence of two into life imprisonment

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC)) on Friday dismissed the appeal of two brothers convicted in a murder case but commuted their death sentence into life imprisonment.

Anjum Aijaz and Sarfaraz were sentenced to death by a West additional district and sessions court for murdering a young boy, Ali Asghar, in Saeedabad on July 22, 2019.According to the prosecution, the complainant alleged that his son Ali was brutally murdered by the appellants through a sharp glass following an altercation.

A counsel for the appellants submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against them as the evidence had numerous contradictions that were overlooked by the trial court.They submitted that two prosecution witnesses did not support the prosecution case and the investigation officer failed to obtain close circuit camera footage from the place of the incident to prove the presence of the appellants.

An additional prosecutor general supported the trial court judgment and submitted that the prosecution’s evidence was coherent and consistent, and no motive of false implication had been established or even raised by the appellants during the trial.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio after hearing the arguments and perusal of evidence observed that independent witnesses had corroborated the involvement of the appellants in the heinous crime.

The SHC observed that gruesome and sadistic nature of injuries inflicted upon the deceased evidenced by the star-shaped lacerations on his neck underscored the sinister intentions of the appellants.

The bench observed that the tragic demise of Ali occurred in the presence of his own father which was supported by two independent witnesses. The SHC observed that the incident was a daytime incident and there was no question of mistaken identity as the appellants had been recognised by the complainant on the spot and then nominated in the FIR with their names and parentage, due to which an identification parade in the case was not necessary.

The high court observed that the crime committed by the appellants was undeniably heinous in nature reflecting a callous disregard for human life but despite the severity of their actions, the court must remain steadfast in its duty to satisfy the scales of justice ensuring that the punishment meted out to the appellants was commensurate with their respective roles in the crime.

The high court observed that imposition of the death sentence upon both the appellants may appear harsh and their individual involvement in the crime merited life imprisonment.

The SHC observed that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellants beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt and dismissed their appeal against the conviction. The SHC, however, modified their death sentence into life imprisonment with a direction to pay Rs200,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased.