The Supreme Court adjourned hearing Zahir Jaffer's appeal against his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam murder case until May 19 on the request of Jaffer's lawyer.
A three-member SC regular bench headed by Justice Hashim Kakar and comprising Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Ali Baqar Najafi on Tuesday took up the high profile murder case that shocked the nation in June 2021.
Defence counsel Salman Safdar and prosecution lawyer Shah Khawar were present during the proceedings. Safdar requested additional time to submit further documents, arguing that those documents could significantly affect the outcome of the case.
He maintained that Jaffer suffers from mental illness, a defence, which, according to him, had been overlooked by both the trial and high courts.
"No medical board has ever been constituted to evaluate the accused's mental health," Safdar told the bench, adding that prior Supreme Court judgments on the matter had also been ignored.
Justice Kakar questioned the justification for an adjournment, noting that both legal teams were in attendance. "In our court, a case is only delayed if the judge or a lawyer dies," he remarked, criticizing the frequency of avoidable delays.
Justice Najafi asked whether the issue of mental illness had been raised during earlier proceedings. When Safdar confirmed that it had not been given adequate consideration, Justice Kakar observed that the point could still be argued without requiring a new application.
Prosecutor Shah Khawar opposed the adjournment, but Justice Najafi advised him to respond only after the defence formally submits its application. The court directed both parties to return fully prepared for the next hearing scheduled for May 19.
Noor Mukadam, 27, was found murdered with her head detached from her body at Jaffer's residence in Islamabad's upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20, 2021. A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir Jaffer, who was arrested at the site of the murder.
In February 2022, a district and sessions judge convicted Jaffer of murdering Mukadam, sentencing him to death along with 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 14, 2023 upheld the death sentence of Jaffer and also converted his 25- year jail term into another death penalty in a rape case.
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