LHC refuses to hear blasphemy convict’s appeal

Division bench says case wrongfully fixed; directs registrar to fix hearing before appropriate bench

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday refused to listen to the appeal of Sawan Masih – a death-row convict charged with blasphemy – for being wrongfully fixed.

The two-judge bench, headed by Justice Anwarul Haq of the LHC, sent the file back to the registrar’s office for fixing it before an appropriate bench. The bench passed the order in view of the facts presented by a law officer before the bench that the bench was listening to appeals against deaths awarded in result of murder charges and the case of Masih is not a murder case, therefore it should not be dealt by this bench.

In March 2014, Masih was awarded death penalty by an additional district and sessions judge after holding his trial in Kot Lakhpat Jail or Central Jail, Lahore due to security concerns.



Masih, a resident of Joseph Colony and the father of two, was also fined Rs200,000.

On March 7, 2013, hundreds of protesters had set ablaze more than 200 houses belonging to Christians in Joseph Colony, after Sawan was accused of blasphemy. Three churches were also burnt in the locality. A day before the incident, police forced the Christians to vacate their houses, saying they would also be attacked otherwise.

Seven witnesses recorded their statements against Masih, while two appeared in his favour before the trial court. Accusing Shahid Imran, the complainant in the FIR, and Shafiq Ahmed for making him a scapegoat, he had denied committing any blasphemy.



An FIR was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act against 83 people accused of the arson; a supplementary statement nominated 50 more in the FIR. They all had been exonerated by the trial court in February this year.

Nadeem Anthony, counsel for Sawan, told The Express Tribune that since the last four years Sawan has been languishing in Kot Lakhpat Jail while the people accused of burning the houses of Christians have been exonerated from the charges without even being sent to jail. Only one Christian, involved in the case, is facing death charges and even his appeal is not being fixed for hearing.