ISLAMABAD, Nov 25: The Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday admitted an appeal against the reduction of sentence of two rapists of a 13-year-old girl by the Federal Shariat Court. FSC had converted the life imprisonment, awarded to convicts Sultan Ahmed and Afzal, by the lower court into ten years on the ground that they acted impulsively and that it was their first offence.

Led by Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, the Shariat Appellate bench adjourned the hearing with an observation that reduction of the sentence seemed improper and illegal.

The bench granted leave to appeal to Rehmat Ali, the father of Sajida Bibi who was abducted from Gujranwala in June 2004 and raped by Afzal and Sultan Ahmed.

Why the sentence awarded to the convicts should not be converted into death because the girl was raped by more than one person, the bench observed while adjourning the case. The next hearing date will be fixed later on.

The Additional and Sessions Judge Gujranwala had awarded life imprisonment to the convicts under Sections 10 (3) and 11 of the Zina (Enforcement of Hudood Ordinance).

However the convicts instituted an appeal before FSC which reduced the sentence to ten years.