Revisiting history: Plea to reopen Ilmuddin case heard

Ilmuddin was convicted and the LHC rejected his appeal, which was argued by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

LAHORE: The chief justice of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday heard arguments on the maintainability of a petition seeking the reopening of an 84-year-old case in which a Muslim carpenter was sentenced to death for killing a Hindu publisher for alleged blasphemy. The chief justice, after hearing the petitioner’s counsel, adjourned the case for March 14. Ilmuddin, popularly known in Pakistan as Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheed, stabbed and killed Mahesha Rajpal in 1929 for publishing a book which was widely perceived in the Indian Muslim community as blasphemous. He was convicted and the LHC rejected his appeal, which was argued by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi of the Save Judiciary Committee filed the petition to reopen the case through Barrister Farooq Hassan. The petitioner argued that the publisher had insulted the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and thus invited his own death. He said Ilmuddin had no personal animosity towards Rajpal, but acted “out of love for the Holy Prophet (pbuh), like a true Muslim”. He asked that Ilmuddin be honoured with state awards and be given a funeral with state protocol.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2013.