ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday quashed the conviction of a man, who was found guilty of murdering a woman for rejecting his marriage proposal, and questioned Why was the accused not given the death penalty?
Shahzad alias Shani, the culprit of the woman’s murder, was sentenced to 25 years in prison with hard labor.
However, IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has referred the case to the trial court for a retrial, and directed it to provide clear reasons for not awarding the death penalty to the convict.
The IHC observed significant flaws in the judgment of the trial court, saying that it failed to explain why the death penalty was not awarded in the case of premeditated murder.
The court highlighted that under normal circumstances the punishment for murder is death which can be commuted to life imprisonment only in exceptional circumstances.
The trial court’s decision to convict the offender under Section 302(c) of the Pakistan Penal Code was held to be unjustified without any argument.
The High Court also noted that the trial court’s decision ignored the crucial legal framework and relied on inconsistencies in the timeline of the murders to justify reducing the sentence.
Justice Kayani emphasized that the death penalty should not be commuted on flimsy grounds. The trial court is ordered to re-examine the case, hear the arguments of the parties and issue a reasoned decision within 45 days.
The IHC ordered that it should indicate why the death penalty was not imposed and reassess the evidence in the light of law.
The case dates back to 30 November 2020, when Shahzad shot Sonia in the head at 9:30 am after rejecting his marriage proposal.
Sonia’s family claimed that Shahzad had been stalking her for five months, sending marriage proposals and threatening to kill her and her father if they refused.
The convict was sentenced on September 30, 2023 by the Additional Sessions Judge.