IHC to hear appeals in Noor Mukadam case on May 19

IHC, unable to hear reference due to unavailability of division bench, has been moved by convicts, plaintiff and state

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed May 19 for hearing the appeals in the Noor Mukadam murder case, after the high court was unable to hear them today due to the unavailability of its division bench.

Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan will hear the appeals on the new date set by the IHC registrar’s office.

Zahir Zakir Jaffer, convicted for murdering Noor, has filed an appeal, while his work staff Iftikhar and Jan Mohammad have also filed appeals against their sentence.

Noor’s father, plaintiff Shaukat Mukadam has filed an appeal to increase the sentence of the convicts, as well as an appeal against the nine individuals acquitted in the case.

Read Justice for Noor: triumph and apprehensions

The state has filed separate appeals against the three convicts and nine acquitted.

A sessions court in Islamabad on February 24, handed down the death penalty to Zahir Jaffer for the murder of Noor Mukadam while his employees, watchman Muhammad Iftikhar and gardener Muhammad Jan, were sentenced to 10 years in prison for abetting in the act.

However, Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani acquitted his parents, Zakir Jaffer and Ismat Adamjee, as well as other suspects in the case including Therapy Works employees, from the charge of abetment.

The judge issued a short order according to which Zahir had been sentenced to death under Section 302(b) (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

However, the death sentence awarded to the convict shall be subject to confirmation by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).