IHC sets aside life sentence of murder convict, seeks reasoning behind lenient punishment

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday overturned a jail sentence of a man, convicted of murdering a woman for rejecting his marriage proposal, questioning why death penalty was not awarded to the accused. 

Shehzad alias Shani, convicted of murdering a woman, was given 25-year rigorous jail time. 

However, IHC's Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has remanded the case to the trial court for retrial, instructing it to provide clear reasons for not awarding the death penalty to the convict.

The IHC observed significant lapses in the trial court's judgment, saying it failed to explain why the death penalty was not awarded in a case of premeditated murder.

The court highlighted that under normal circumstances, the penalty for murder is death which could only be reduced to life imprisonment under exceptional conditions.

The trial court's decision to sentence the convict under Section 302(c) of the Pakistan Penal Code was deemed unjustified without adequate reasoning.

The high court also noted that the trial court’s verdict ignored crucial legal frameworks and relied on inconsistencies in the timeline of the murder to justify the reduced sentence.

Justice Kayani emphasised that leniency in death penalties should not be granted on weak grounds. The trial court has been ordered to re-evaluate the case, hear arguments from both sides, and issue a reasoned judgment within 45 days.

It must address why the death penalty was not imposed and reassess the evidence in light of the law, the IHC ordered.

The case dates back to November 30, 2020, when Shehzad shot Sonia in the head at 9:30am after she rejected his marriage proposal.

Sonia’s family claimed that Shehzad had been stalking her for five months, sent a marriage proposal, and threatened to kill her and her father after being rejected.

The convict was sentenced on September 30, 2023, by an additional sessions judge.