Subordinate courts made landmark judgments in 2016

LAHORE

The year 2016 of subordinate courts observed some landmark judgments including Kot Radha Kishan case, indicating that justice still prevails in the country. 

In Kot Radha Kishan case Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Muhammad Azam awarded death sentence to five convicts on two counts over the charges of burning alive a Christian couple by throwing it in a kiln over alleged blasphemy in 2014.

The court awarded death penalty to Hafiz Ishtiaq, a cleric, Mehdi Khan, Riaz Kambo, Irfan Shakoor and Muhammad Hanif. The court awarded two years jail term each to eight other convicts over the charges of abetment in lynching which included Muhammad Hussain, Noorul Hasan, Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Muneer, Muhammad Ramazan, Irfan and Hafiz Shahid. 

The couple left behind two sons, Suleman Masih, 6, and Zeeshan Masih ,4 and two daughters, Sania,3, and 18-month-old Ponam. 

Another important judgment was announced on January 29 in which an additional district and sessions judge awarded death sentence on two counts to three convicts including brother of Supreme Court retired judge justice Javed Iqbal, for killing his parents for the sake of money. 

The judge awarded death sentence to convicts Naveed, Muhammad Ameen and Abass Shakir and imposed Rs 500,000 fine each.

The convicts had killed Abdul Hameed, 80, and Zarina Bibi, 70. 

According to investigation of police, Naveed Iqbal was a rickshaw driver. He murdered his father Malik Abdul Hameed, who was a former deputy inspector-general of police, and his second wife Zarina Bibi. After murdering them, he fled with a briefcase having Rs 0.5 million in cash and took it to Ichra Market, Lahore, to have it unlocked. The locksmith, however, refused to comply. 

In a judicial inquiry report in 2016 a magistrate remarked that FIRs registered against an accused do not give licence to police for his extrajudicial killing. 

On June 21, a judicial magistrate termed killing of a youth, Mohsin Mushtaq, extra-judicial killing and held responsible twelve police officials for conducting fake encounter and suggested a criminal case against them under section 302 of PPC.

The judge conducted inquiry in an FIR registered by Shahdra police under sections 324/34/253/186 PC and 13/20/65 PAO. The FIR claimed Inspector Zulfiqar Ali was informed by a spy that complainant Tanveer Ahmed of abduction case has paid ransom money to the abductors and kidnappers are coming to Band Road for delivery of alleged abductee Bilal. 

The judge mentioned that police officials produced several FIRs against the accused registered in police stations but criminal cases are not a licence for police officials to commit extra judicial killing. Fowling the statements of police officials post-mortem report it is proved that it was an extra judicial killing. The report stated that officials have committed Qatl-Amad and they have committed crime. So the criminal case under section 302 of PPC and all other enabling penal provisions of law be registered against police officials who participated in fake encounter.

In another important judgment, an anti-terrorism court judge, Ch Muhammad Ilyas, sentenced two main culprits for life over the charges of sexually abusing children in Kasur sex scandal. 

The court imprisoned for life convicts including Haseem Amir and Faizan Majeed. 

The court awarded life term to the convicts under Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections including PPC 377 (Unnatural offences), 293 (Sale of obscene objects to young person), 385 (Putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) and section 7 of Anti Terrorism Act.

In another major judgment on November 2, Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Rehman Bodla awarded death sentence on three counts to a man on charges of killing his three nephews and injuring their mother in 2015. All the three kids were less than five-year-old.  

Youhanabad lynching case kept developing in 2016 as on October 1, an anti-terrorism court judge, Justice Azizullah, framed charges against 42 Christian suspects over the charges of lynching two Muslim men Babar Numan and Naeem.