PESHAWAR, Feb 20: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday set aside capital punishment awarded by a qazi court to a man for killing his wife and remanded the case back to the trial court.

A bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Ijazul Hassan observed that the appellant had been suffering from psychological disorder and the trial court had not fulfilled the requirements under the law.

The appellant, Mir Zaman, had axed his wife to death when she was asleep in Lower Dir district on Sept 22, 2004. No clear motive was given for the offence and it was only stated that he had differences with his wife.

The complainant was Asad Ali, son of the deceased woman, Mah Tallat. Two daughters of the deceased, Neelum and Parveen, were witnesses of the occurrence. The izafi zila qazi (additional district and sessions judge), Lower Dir, convicted the appellant on May 31, 2006, and sentenced him to death with fine of Rs100,000.

Advocate Farhana Marwat appeared for the appellant and argued that he was suffering from mental ailment. She contended that the complainant had stated initially and during the trial that his father was suffering from psychological disorder. She contended that it was on record that the appellant had been receiving medical treatment for his illness.Ms Marwat stated that the procedure given in Sections 465 and 466 of the Criminal Procedure Code, dealing with insane and lunatic offenders, had not been followed in the case. She argued that under Section 465 if any person appeared to the court to be of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, the court should try the fact of such unsoundness and incapacity and if satisfied of the fact it should postponed further proceedings in the case.