KARACHI, July 28: The Sindh High Court had to adjourn again the hearing of appeals moved by the convicts and the state in US journalist Daniel Pearle's kidnapping and murder case due to the absence of a defence counsel.
As the case was called on Wednesday, the appellate division bench, comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui and Mohammad Afzal Soomro, was informed by defence counsel Mohsin Imam that the senior counsel for the principal accused, Abdul Waheed Katpar, was indisposed and was admitted to hospital.
Main accused Ahmed Omar Sheikh and co-accused Salman Saquib, Sheikh Mohammad Adil and Fahad Naseem were convicted by an anti- terrorism court at Hyderabad in July 2002 for kidnapping Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearle and later hacking him to death.
Omar was condemned to die on the gallows while the co- accused were awarded life terms. All four convicts were fined Rs 500,000 each and asked, in addition, to pay Rs 2 million to their victim's widow, Mariane, as compensation.
The convicts challenged the ATC judgment and requested the high court to set aside their conviction and sentences. The prosecution also moved an appeal for enhancement of the penalty of life imprisonment handed down to the three co-accused to capital punishment.
The appeals have been pending since July 2002 and the SHC appellate bench pointed out on Wednesday that the adjournments were generally caused by the absence of one defence counsel or another.
It asked all the counsel to be present on the next date so that the appeals could proceed. Advocate Rai Bashir of Lahore, who represents two appellants, informed the bench that he would be abroad on general adjournment the whole of August and a date may be fixed in September.
The bench, by consent, fixed September 7 as the next date of hearing. The bench, meanwhile, reserved its judgment on an appeal moved by a convict in a kidnapping case involving the death of his victim and accomplice.
According to a complaint lodged by Sohail Nazim with the Clifton police, his brother Mumtaz Ali and nephew Danial were kidnapped by two armed people riding a jeep on October 6, 2001. The police succeeded in intercepting the jeep at Gulshan-i-Iqbal and a shoot-out followed. Abductee Mumtaz Ali and the co-accused received fatal injuries. Accused Liaquat was arrested and victim Danial saved.
A Karachi anti-terrorism court tried the accused and sentenced him to death and imposed a fine of Rs 200,000. The ATC judgment was challenged by the convict and the SHC appellate bench reserved its verdict on the appeal on Wednesday.
SEALING ORDERED: Justice Maqbool Baqar of High Court of Sindh (SHC) on Wednesday directed the Nazir of the court, Moinuddin Ahmed, to seal one of the two vacant flats of Green Residency, 71 Garden, Clifton, Karachi, add agencies.
The bench was hearing a suit filed by one Mohammad Ahmed who purchased a flat in the residential/commercial complex constructed by a builder Ayub Merchant. According to the plaintiff, he paid Rs2.7 million to the builder while he also deposited Rs 0.3 million with the Nazir of SHC.
The plaintiff maintained that despite orders of the court, the defendant sold out the flat allotted to him to another person and thus caused a breach of contract and indulged in cheating.
The bench after hearing the counsel for the plaintiff ordered the Nazir of the SHC to seal any of the two vacant flats available in the complex till the disposal of the suit.
Another division bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Gulzar Ahmed, dismissed a constitutional petition challenging ban on shrimp catch during June and July season.
Mohammad Akbar, a trawler owner, moved the court maintaining that the ban placed by respondent Karachi Fish harbour Authority was illegal. The bench during hearing of the petition observed that ban was legal under the rules and laws.
The counsel for petitioner prayed to the court to allow her to withdraw the petition. The bench allowed the request and dismissed the petition as with drawn.
ORDER RESERVED: The Sindh High Court Wednesday reserved judgment on an appeal filed by Liaquat Ali filed against his conviction in a kidnapping case. The appellant was sentenced to death with a fine of Rs2,00,000 by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi on May 9, 2002.
