Court seeks more time to wrap up Noor case
Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani has written a letter to the Islamabad High Court seeking two more months to complete the trial of the Noor Muqqadam murder case.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had directed the trial court to wrap up the proceedings in the Noor Muqaddam murder case in two months after the indictment of the suspects.
In the letter, judge Atta Rabbani has stated that since all lawyers representing the accused hail from outside Islamabad, the dates for the hearings have to be fixed according to their availability and convenience.
The letter said that except for one or two witnesses in the case, the defence counsel have cross-examined them, while statements of 17 witnesses have been recorded in the case.
The letter said that during the trial, various petitions were also heard which consumed court’s time and in view of this, the trial could not be completed within the stipulated time of two months.
Earlier, the IHC in its written order had mentioned that the two-month time would start from the day the accused were indicted. The accused were indicted by the trial court on October 14 and the two-month time will expire on December 14. On the other hand, Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani has summoned plaintiff Shaukat Muqaddam, the father of Noor Muqqadam, on December 15 to record his statement.
Earlier, Therapy Works has pleaded to the court that the CCTV footage of the murder should be allowed to be run in the courtroom during cross-examination of prosecution witness Mudasir. The plea said that the hearing should be conducted in-camera when the CCTV footage will be displayed during the cross-examination of the prosecution witness.
The lawyer said that the court was already aware of the CCTV footage going viral. He said that showing the footage in the courtroom will clear the mist. At this, the judge remarked that he would look into the matter.
Hearing on a plea seeking to form a medical board to examine the mental of the main accused, Zahir Jaffer, will be taken up at the next hearing. A request to summon three doctors of the PIMS hospital by the Therapy Works will also be heard at the next hearing. Further hearing of the case has been adjourned till December 15.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2021.