ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday halted the execution of a death row convict who was awarded death sentence by a trial court for killing three people in Gujranwala in 1995.
A three-member SC bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam heard an appeal of Muhammad Siddique, a death row convict. A trial court had awarded death sentence to Muhammad Siddique for killing three people in Gujranwala in 1995.
As per the case, accused Muhammad Siddique was to be hanged on February 7, 2019 in Gujranwala jail. The apex court however, after hearing the counsel halted the execution of Muhammad Siddique and issued notice to Advocate General, Punjab and adjourned the hearing till February 13.
Death row convict Muhammad Siddique had challenged the verdict of Lahore High Court (LHC) in the apex court. Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, counsel for the petitioner, while arguing before the court submitted that legal heirs of the deceased have filed an application in the sessions court for pardoning the accused under Section 381 of Criminal Procedure Code CrPC. The counsel however submitted that the sessions court dismissed the plea of legal heirs of the deceased. Later, the legal heirs of the deceased moved the LHC which too dismissed the instant appeal.
Mr Bhutta submitted that after the application of the legal heirs of the deceased was rejected by the courts, his client came to this court. He contended that Section 381 of CrPC provides that sentence of death shall not be executed if the legal heirs of the deceased pardon the convict or enter into a compromise with him even at the last moment before execution of the sentence. Zulfiqar Bhutta further contended that bare reading of this section of CrPC reveals that there is no need of court’s permission for pardoning at this stage as the said section has given the right to legal heirs of the deceased to pardon the accused even before hanging hence this right cannot be stopped by the court.
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