PESHAWAR, June 1: For the last four months, criminal appeals against death penalties awarded to various appellants, including some juvenile offenders and women, could not be heard by the Federal Shariat Court due to shortage of judges.

At present, only two judges have been functioning in the FSC whereas under the Constitution maximum eight judges could be appointed there.

Apart from criminal appeals carrying sentences of death, important Shariat petitions could also not be fixed for hearing due to non-availability of the required number of judges.

Under the FSC rules, a Shariat petition could only be heard by a bench of three judges or more. Similarly, appeals against verdicts of the sessions court in cases of capital punishment and amputation of limbs could only be heard by a bench consisting of not less than three judges.

It is learnt that about 30 criminal appeals could not be taken up for hearing due to shortage of judges.

In two of the appeals in the NWFP, juvenile offenders have challenged death penalty awarded to them by the trial court. In one of the appeals, two boys from Swat, Mohammad Rafique and Sohail Fida, have challenged capital punishment awarded to them by a Qazi court for killing a boy.

Moreover, a boy named Tahir Khan has also filed an appeal claiming that he is juvenile offender but the trial court had not considered that point and awarded him death penalty in Peshawar.

An appeal of a woman, Ms Shehnaz, who was awarded death sentence along with another person for killing her husband, has also been pending before the Shariat court. She is behind the bars since 1996.

Under Article 203C, sub-clause 2 of the Constitution, the Shariat court shall consist of not more than eight Muslim judges, including the chief justice, to be appointed by the president.

Three of the judges — the then chief justice of the court, Justice Fazal Ilahi Khan, Justice Ali Mohammad Baluch and Justice Sardar Mohammad Dogar — completed their three years term in January. Similarly, Justice Khan Riazuddin Khan completed his term in February.

Now, only two of the judges — Justice Ijaz Yousaf, who was appointed chief justice last month, and Justice Dr Fida Mohammad — are left in the Shariat court.