ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal of Indian spy Manjeet Singh alias Surbajeet Singh against the death sentence awarded to him for a Lahore bomb blast in which several people had been killed.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashad dismissed Surbajeet’s fourth and last petition with leave to appeal as the case was time-barred for 620 days.
On Aug 18, a separate bench had upheld the death sentence in three cases by dismissing his appeals against the Lahore High Court’s order for his involvement in multiple bomb blasts in three Pakistani cities.
Surbajeet, a resident of Bhikiwand in Amritsar, was arrested by the personnel of Mujahid Force on Aug 30, 1990 in Kasur near the border and was subsequently handed over to the Intelligence Battalion, Lahore, for interrogation.
The spy told interrogators that he was trained by the Indian Military Intelligence and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) for carrying out multiple bomb blasts in Lahore, Kasur and Faisalabad. Fourteen people, including women and children, were killed and 89 others injured in those explosions.
In the last case, the spy was accused of planting an explosive device near a fruit shop at the Yakki Gate, Lahore, killing four people.
Advocate Rana Abdul Hameed representing Surbajeet argued before the court that filing of the petition had been delayed because the accused being in jail lacked resources for being an Indian citizen.
The lawyer later told reporters that he would file a review petition on Wednesday under Article 188 of the constitution.
If the review petition is also rejected, Surbajeet will still have a last chance to file a mercy petition before the President of Pakistan under Article 45 (president’s power to grand pardon).
In its detailed judgment on earlier pleas, the apex court had held that the conviction was well deserved and did not warrant any leniency.
A 27-page judgment had noted that the trial court had convicted Surbajeet only on one count in cases of terrorism, though he should have been convicted and sentenced separately for each murder in each case. If the charge stood proved then there is no justification to withhold maximum sentence provided under the law, the judgment said.
