SHC sets aside death sentences of three in kidnapping and murder case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday set aside death sentence of three men convicted in a case pertaining to kidnapping for ransom and murder.

An anti-terrorism court had handed down death penalty to the three men, Asif, Atif and Rizwan, after having found them guilty of kidnapping a man for ransom and killing him later. According to the prosecution, the appellants had kidnapped their friend Munibul Haq from the Surjani Town area in October 2005 and demanded Rs1 million as ransom for his release.

The prosecution alleged that the appellants had killed the abductee and threw his body in Hyderabad. After perusal of the evidence, the SHC observed that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the appellants and set aside the conviction awarded to them by the trial court.

Sentence commuted

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the appeal of a convict in a murder case but commuted his life imprisonment to a sentence that he had undergone in the prison. Mansoor Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court for causing death of his friend in 2008 at a farm house situated in the Sharafi Goth area. The court observed that a death by accident could not be considered as Qatal-e-Khata (death by mistake).

In another appeal, the court set aside the life imprisonment of a convict in a murder case and ordered the authorities concerned to release him if he was not required in another case. Riaz Chandio was sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court for murdering Abdul Haleem Junejo in 2007 in Hyderabad. A counsel for the appellant submitted that he was falsely implicated in the case and the prosecution failed to prove charges against his client. After perusal of the evidence, the court set aside the high court and trial court order and ordered the release of the appellant if he was not required in other cases.