March, 12 2005	Saturday	1 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 11: The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) stepped into the Mukhtar Mai gang-rape case on Friday, declaring a Lahore High Court acquittal of convicts without jurisdiction and deciding to hold its own hearing.

“The March 3, 2005, judgment pronounced by the high court in these appeals is liable to be treated as coram-non-judice (without jurisdiction), with the consequential result that the appeals would be deemed pending a decision by the Federal Shariat Court,” a three-member FSC bench comprising Justice Saeedur Rehman Farrukh, Justice Zafar Pasha Chaudhry and Justice S. A. Rabbani said in a five-page order.

“Under the constitution, all orders of the Federal Shariat Court are binding on the high courts, therefore, jurisdiction to hear appeals in the gang-rape case afresh by the FSC has been assumed after suspending the judgment of the high court,” explained FSC Registrar Mohammad Rafiq Najmi while talking to Dawn.

Taking suo motu notice, the FSC also summoned Abdul Khaliq, whose sentence was converted into life imprisonment by the high court, along with other 13 acquitted accused and Mukhtar Mai, the rape victim, to appear before it for hearing of these appeals afresh in accordance with law, treating the same as pending adjudication.

It also asked to serve notices on 13 acquitted accused by bailable warrants in the sum of Rs100,000 each through the district police officer of Muzaffargarh.

Punjab Advocate-General Aftab Iqbal has also been summoned to assist the court whenever the case would be fixed for hearing by the FSC.

The FSC also summoned complete record of appeals moved by the accused before the Lahore High Court, Multan Bench, and directed its office to fix a date for hearing after the receipt of the record.

The court assumed jurisdiction to hear appeals under Article 203-DD of the constitution which deals with its revisional jurisdiction.

Article 203-DD (1) of the constitution said the FSC could examine the record of any case decided by any criminal court under any law relating to the enforcement of Hudood for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding, sentence or order and could direct that execution of any sentence be suspended and if the accused was in confinement, he be released on bail or on his own bond pending the examination of the record.

It manifested that appeals could not be legally filed in the instant case before the high court as the main offence allegedly committed was rape, as postulated by section 10 of the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979. Therefore, the only competent appellate forum under section 20 of the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, to hear such appeals is the FSC, the order said.

To establish its competency to deal with such appeals, the FSC also quoted different cases, namely 1984 Mohammad Abbas versus the State, 1988 Ghulam Abbas versus the State and 2004 Mohammad Sufeer versus the State.

On March 3, 2005, the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court had overturned the convictions of five men sentenced to death in 2002 for raping Mukhtar Mai on the orders of a jirga.

However, the high court commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty of the sixth convict involved in the case.