SC’s larger bench to hear appeals in Shahzeb murder case

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has constituted a larger bench to hear appeals, filed by members of civil society in Shahzeb Khan murder case.

According to Geo News report, the case would be heard on Saturday (today) by a three-member SC bench, headed by the chief justice and comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Faisal Arab at the Karachi Registry.

Members of civil society had approached the Supreme Court against the Sindh High Court ruling, which set aside the death penalty for Shahrukh Jatoi and others, convicted for the 2012 murder of Shahzeb and ordered their retrial by a sessions court.

Ten civil society activists – including Jibran Nasir, Jamshed Raza Mahmood, Afiya Shehrbano Zia, Naeem Sadiq, Nazim Fida Hussain Haji, Zulfiqar Shah, Aquila Ismail, Fahim Zaman Khan, and Naziha Syed Ali – have filed a criminal petition in the SC Karachi Registry challenging the SHC Nov 28, 2017 ruling which stated that the murder case does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

In their petition, the civil society members stated that they have the legal standing to file the petition for leave to appeal as they are citizens of Karachi and reside in the same locality – Defence Housing Authority – where the murder took place.

They have stated in the petition that the incident was not just of an individual nature, but carried serious repercussions for society at large. The incident created fear and panic among residents of the area, which the members say they consider as enough grounds to file the case as a public interest appeal on behalf of the people of Karachi.

On Dec 23, 2017, Jatoi, the son of an influential feudal lord, and other defendants in the Shahzeb Khan murder case, were released from custody on bail after Shahzeb’s father submitted an affidavit in support of the defendant's bail application.

Shahzeb was gunned down by Jatoi in a posh locality of Karachi on Dec 25, 2012. An ATC in 2013 had awarded death sentences to Jatoi and Siraj Talpur for the murder of Shahzeb, while life sentences were awarded to Sajjad Ali Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari.