Man gets life term for murder over ‘illicit relationship’

A sessions court on Thursday awarded life imprisonment to an accused for murdering a young man in the name of honour.

Arif, his father Nawabzada, mother Zartaj, and brother Shahrukh were charged with killing Pervaiz Khan with sticks and stones over suspicion of having an illicit relationship with Arif’s wife within the Ittehad police remits in 2018.

Additional Sessions Judge-X (West) Irshad Hussain announced his judgment reserved earlier after the recording of evidence and final arguments from both prosecution and defence sides. He ruled that the prosecution successfully proved its charges against the accused without any shadow of doubt, sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for life. The convict was ordered to pay Rs200,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the victim. In case of failure to pay the compensation, he would have to undergo additional six-month imprisonment.

The judge extended the benefit of Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to the convict, meaning the period he has spent behind bars as under-trial prisoner to be counted as time served. The convict was remanded back to the jail to serve out the sentence awarded to him. The court, however, exonerated his parents and brother from the charges by giving them the benefit of the doubt.

According to the prosecution, the accused, his parents and brother were alleged to have murdered Parvez Khan in 2018 within the jurisdiction of the Ittehad Town police station. They attacked the victim with sticks and stones, inflicting head injuries, on suspicion of him having an illicit relationship with Arif’s wife, it mentioned. An FIR was lodged at the Ittehad Town police station on the complaint of the deceased’s father, Ram Das Khan.