SC grants bail to Zahir’s mother

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Asmat Adamjee, the mother of Zahir Jaffer, the main accused in the 27-year-old Noor Muqqadam murder case.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, disposed of the bail plea of Zakir Jaffer, the father of Zahir Jaffer, after it was withdrawn.

A trial court has already charge-sheeted both the accused in the Noor Muqqadam murder case. The accused have denied guilty to the crime.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Umar Ata Bandial took up the case for hearing. During the hearing, the top court observed that the two co-accused, Asmat Adamjee and Zakir Jaffer, should be given the right to a fair trial.

Justice Bandial observed that prima facie, there was apparently no serious evidence available against the main accused’s mother.

The judge said that the court did not want to affect the ongoing trial. During the hearing, SC judge Justice Qazi Amin said that a fair trial could not be compromised at any cost.

Justice Amin observed that criminal cases take a total of three days to be wrapped up, but were not completed even after the passage of two years.

At this, Justice Bandial said that the court may issue directives for the case proceedings to be done on a daily basis.

Khwaja Haris, counsel for the accused, told the court that a lot of case records had not yet been provided to the accused.

He said that Zahir’s parents were not the main accused and faced charges of hiding the murder and not informing the police.

At this, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the father of the accused might be directing on the call to commit the murder, or might be attempting to stop it. Haris responded that the prime accused might not be telling his father the truth at all. Counsel for plaintiff Shah Khawar said that the mother of the accused and the gatekeeper had a chat following Noor Muqqadam’s jump from the terrace. He said that the mother of the accused could have prevented the murder if she wanted to do so.

Justice Mansoor observed that the parents of the accused were together while the conversations with the son took place. “Apparently, the mother knew as much as the father about the incident,” the judge said adding, “Let us grant her a bail on the basis that she is a woman. Let’s not go into the matter on the basis of merit.”

The parents of Zahir Jaffer had approached the SC for post-arrest bail after the Islamabad High Court rejected their bail plea.

The father and mother had filed two separate pleas in the top court through their counsel. Zahir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee had been in judicial custody for “aiding and abetting” their son in the murder of Noor Muqqadam.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2021.