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| June 15, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1426 |
SC upholds death penalty in multi-murder case
PESHAWAR, June 14: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition of the mother of a juvenile offender and upheld the death penalty awarded to him on five counts. A two-member bench comprising Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and Justice Nasirul Mulk observed that as the Supreme Court had already dismissed the leave-to-appeal petition and review petition of the convict, therefore it could not intervene in the case at this stage.
The bench told the petitioner’s counsel to file a mercy petition before the president who has constitutional powers to commute the death sentence.
Petitioner Taj Bibi, mother of Mutaber Khan, stated that her son was a minor at the time of occurrence in 1996. She said he was awarded death sentence by a court in the Swabi district for killing five persons of the same family. The sentence was upheld by the high and supreme courts.
When the president issued a notification in December 2001 commuting death sentences of all the juvenile offenders to life imprisonment, the convict again moved the high court which dismissed his petition on the grounds that the Supreme Court had already dismissed his appeal.
The convict claimed that he was 16 at the time of occurrence and for two years he was kept in the youthful offenders’ section at the Peshawar central prison.
Advocate Tasleem Hussain appeared for the petitioner and contended that the boy was a juvenile offender and the presidential notification was applicable to his case.
The bench inquired from the lawyer under which law it could re-open the case when the Supreme Court had already dismissed his petitions. The bench observed that he should request the president which was now the proper forum.
The convict was a resident of Tordher in Swabi. He was arrested on April 15, 1996 for killing five persons of the same family. An injured lady, Shehzadgai, had charged him and an absconding accused Gul Taza with attacking her Khanzada family.
The convict in his confessional statement said he wanted to marry a daughter of Mr Khanzada who asked him to pay a sum of Rs30,000. He said when his family arranged the money, Mr Khanzada informed them that he had already accepted some other proposal for his daughter after getting Rs80,000. This infuriated him and he along with his companion killed Khanzada, his three daughters and a son.
The trial court convicted Mutaber on Oct 6, 1998, and awarded him capital punishment on five counts. In May 2000, his appeal was dismissed by the Peshawar High Court. On September 13, 2001, the Supreme Court also dismissed his appeal.
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