PESHAWAR, April 3: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday transferred an appeal of a man and woman convicts, sentenced to death by a trial court to the Federal Shariat Court.

A division bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Abdur Rauf Lughmani observed that the appellants were also charged under the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, and only the Shariat Court was empowered to hear appeals in Hudood cases.

The woman Mst Shehnaz was charged of killing her husband Ibrar Ahmad in connivance with the accused Aamir, who was nephew of the deceased.

The incident had occurred on August 11, 1996. In the FIR registered by SHO of Kohat City police station, Rasheed Khan, stated that the deceased Ibrar Ahmad was killed by his wife and nephew as they had illicit relations and had concealed the body. Later on, the body was recovered by the police on the pointation of the two accused.

The deceased was reportedly killed with a hatchet. The two appellants had also recorded their confessional statements, but later they retracted from those statements and claimed that those were given under coercion.

The district and sessions judge, Kohat, found them guilty of the offence on Oct 3, 2000 and awarded them capital punishment.

The high court bench observed that the said appeal fell in the jurisdiction of the Shariat Court. Advocate Ishtiaq Ibraheem appeared for the appellants and conceded that the appeal should be heard by the Shariat Court.

Under the Federal Shariat Court (procedure) Rules, 1981, an appeal against death sentence should be heard by a bench of the Shariat Court comprising not less then two judges.