KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of murdered student Shahzeb Khan, directing the counsel representing prime accused Shahrukh Jatoi and others to come with arguments in the next hearing.

A special bench comprising Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Nazar Akbar was constituted to hear the case after the Supreme Court had annulled the high court’s verdict that set aside the conviction awarded to the accused.

The apex court, while hearing the application of civil rights activists, had also ordered a retrial of the case under Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and directed the high court to decide the case within two months.

At the outset of the hearing, Jatoi’s counsel Advocate Farooq H. Naek said that his client was a juvenile at the time of committing the crime; therefore, he should not be tried under ATC.

However, one of the members of the bench replied that this application could be heard separately, as this bench was constituted to decide the case within the stipulated time.

The bench directed the lawyers of all sides to come up with the arguments and put off the hearing till Feb 26.

On Nov 28 last year, the SHC bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar had set aside the capital punishment of Shahrukh Jatoi and Nawab Siraj Talpur, and life imprisonment of Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari awarded by antiterrorism court. The high court had also ruled that this case did not come within the jurisdiction of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and would be tried in an ordinary court.

Later on, all accused persons including Jatoi, were granted bail by the district and sessions judge as the victim’s father had filed an affidavit of pardoning all of them.

Following their release, civil rights campaigners had approached the apex court, asking it to set aside the SHC judgment and ruled that the case should be tried by the ATC.

The apex court had ordered the arrest of all the accused persons and retrial of the case under ATA.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2018