On Death Row: LHC dismisses appeal against hanging

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday dismissed the appeal of a murder convict, challenging his death penalty. The petitioner, Mumtaz, pleaded that a trial court in Sargodha had given him death sentence on the charge of killing Muhammad Ashraf. He said that the trial had been unfair. The deputy prosecutor opposed the appeal and told the bench that the trial court had awarded the punishment in light of evidence. He said several witnesses had testified against Mumtaz. After hearing both sides, the bench, headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, dismissed the petition and upheld the death sentence. Meanwhile, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik of the LHC released a man, Charan Das, on bail in a fraud case. The judge directed the suspect to furnish bail bonds for Rs100,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2014.