Shahrukh Jatoi can escape death penalty if court accepts him as a minor: Lawyers

Juvenile laws ensure separate trial of minors and no capital punishment.

KARACHI: Shahrukh Jatoi, the prime suspect in the Shahzeb Khan murder case, may escape capital punishment if the court accepts that he is a minor.

On Monday, Shahrukh underwent a bone ossification test at Civil Hospital, Karachi, to determine his age. The process consists of multiple tests and X-rays to estimate the age of an individual based on the formation and growth of bones.

The age test was ordered on January 17 by an anti-terrorism court on an application filed by his lawyer, seeking a separate trial from other suspects. Shahrukh was identified by two witnesses during an identification parade before a judicial magistrate on January 19.

Shahrukh, Nawab Siraj Talpur, 22, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Talpur, 21, and their 23-year-old servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari have been accused of murdering 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan, over a dispute in Defence on December 25, 2012.

If Shahrukh’s age is verified to be less than 18 years, he will be entitled to two major legal concessions as provided in the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, defence lawyer Amir Mansoob Qureshi told The Express Tribune.

“First, he cannot be handed down capital punishment [death penalty]. Second, his trial will be held separately from the co-accused,” he said. According to the report, Shahrukh is a minor aged 17 years and some days. He will turn 18 in November this year. Section 5 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, ensures separate trial of minors from the adult co-accused.



Qureshi’s claim was seconded by senior lawyers specialising in criminal cases. Farooq Ahmed, associated with Muhammad Ilyas Khan and Associates, confirmed these concessions for juvenile suspects.

Under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, a suspect aged below 18 cannot be handed down a death sentence. “The maximum sentence a minor offender can be given is life imprisonment. But the trial has to be held separately from his adult co-accused, if there are any,” Farooq explained.

The lawyer cited, however, a judgment given by a larger bench of the Sindh High Court in 2006, when the court categorised the offences for which juvenile offenders could be tried by anti-terrorism courts. “Any suspect involved in heinous crimes, such as terrorism, abduction, kidnapping for ransom, sectarian killings or bomb blasts can be tried at anti-terrorism courts.”

Being a minor, can Shahrukh still be tried by the anti-terrorism court? Farooq said it was up to the court to establish the nature of the offence.

“If, the alleged offence is considered to have caused panic in the public, as in the case of Shahzeb because people took to streets, then I think, the underage suspect will be tried by the anti-terrorism court,” he said. “If the court considers it to be a simple murder, the case can be transferred to a sessions court for a formal trial.”

The cut-off age for juvenile offenders was 16 under the Sindh Children Act, 1976 but it was increased to 18 in the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000.

Habib Ahmed, a senior lawyer, believed Shahrukh’s case could be held at a sessions court since the offence did not fall in the categories described in the third schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The crimes include abduction, kidnapping for ransom, terrorism, use of firearms or bomb blasts at worship places and courts. The experts also believe the possibility of a compromise in this case depends on the nature of the offence. Farooq and Habib both said that the inclusion of section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act in the FIR restricts any compromise. It will be mandatory to drop this section to transfer the case to a sessions court, they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013.