SC reject plea of triple-murder convict

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a review petition filed by triple murder convict Muhammad Siddique against his death sentence.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case and directed the counsel to again appeal to the president for mercy.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Zulfiqar Bhatta counsel for the accused said that the parties had agreed to a reconciliation and according to the law, reconciliation could be reached at any time before execution.

Justice Qazi Amin said that all the courts including the Supreme Court had rejected his client's appeals as well as the president of Pakistan had also rejected his mercy petition.

The counsel said that his client wanted the death penalty to be commuted to life imprisonment on the basis of reconciliation.

Justice Qazi Amin said that life imprisonment did not mean 25 years imprisonment but imprisonment for whole life. Justice Munib Akhtar said that even if the execution was stopped, the culprit would remain in jail for life.

He said that if the killer of three persons was not punished then what would be the impact on the society. The court disposed of the case by directing the lawyer to appeal to the President of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2020.