Court seeks more time to wrap up Noor case
Noor Mukadam. Photo courtesy: Change.org
The trial court has sought more time to wrap up the Noor Muqaddam murder case.
The trial of the case could not be completed within the two-month fixed by the Islamabad High Court for the second time.
Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani has written a letter to the Islamabad High Court seeking more time to complete the trial. 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 further stated 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.
Read: Cross-examination of prosecution witnesses complete in Noor case
It was also stated in the letter that during the trial, various petitions were also heard which consumed the court’s time and, because of this, the trial court could not be completed within the stipulated time of two months.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had directed the trial court to wrap up the proceedings within two months after the indictment of the suspects on October 14, 2021.
The trial was supposed to be completed in two months by December 14, 2021.
After being informed by the trial judge, the Islamabad High Court had given six weeks which was completed till the last week of January but the trial is still pending.
Now, Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani has again informed the IHC in which it has been asked to give some suitable time so that the trial could be completed. He further said that the cross-examination has been completed after the statements of the prosecution witnesses and the lawyers of the accused will now be given a questionnaire under section 342 of the Criminal Code, after which the final arguments in the case will begin, therefore appropriate time should be given so that the trial can be completed.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2022.