KARACHI, March 16: A sessions court on Wednesday sentenced three men to three years in prison in a robbery case. The court found Irfan, Shah Mohammad and Noor Mohammad alias Bengali guilty of robbing police constable Azhar Shahab within the remit of the Awami Colony police station in September last year.

The assistant additional district and sessions judge (east), Sarwat Sultana, pronounced the verdict after recording evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The convicts were also fined Rs10,000 each and in case of non-payment they would undergo an additional one-month imprisonment.

The court also extended the benefit of Section 382-B (period of detention to be considered while awarding sentence of imprisonment) of the criminal procedure code to the convicts.

According to the prosecution, Azhar was posted at the Awami Colony police station and was going home after his duty on the night of Sept 3, 2010 when the accused took him hostage and deprived him of cash, cellphone and an official gun. However, the accused were apprehended a few days after the incident.

A case (FIR No 495/2010) was registered under Sections 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The jail authorities produced the accused in court on Wednesday and following the pronouncement of the judgment they were sent back to prison along with conviction warrants to serve out the remainder of their sentences.

Meanwhile, lawyers on Wednesday observed a “thanksgiving day” to celebrate the second anniversary of the reinstatement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges of the superior judiciary.

Speaking at a general body meeting held at the Shuhada-i-Punjab hall of the city courts, representatives of the legal fraternity said that the movement launched by the legal profession and supported by civil society, some politicians and the media had left the government with no option but to restore the chief justice and other judges.

They urged the government to implement all the verdicts of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit and warned that the lawyers’ community would again launch a movement if any attempt was made to derail the superior judiciary.

They paid homage to the lawyers who sacrificed their lives for the restoration of the judiciary.