SHC upholds death sentence of two robbers who killed man in front of family

The Sindh High Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeals of two convicts and upheld their death sentences in a robbery-cum-murder case.

Farman Ali and Jehangir had been sentenced to death by the additional district and sessions judge of District East for murdering a man for resisting a robbery bid. According to the prosecution, the two killed Hafiz Abul Aala in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on July 6, 2011.

The appellants’ counsel contended that there was a delay of about 50 hours in the registration of the FIR, which had not been explained by the prosecution and the names of the appellants were not mentioned nor were any descriptions written in the FIR. He submitted that the identification parade was defective and unreliable, but the trial court convicted the appellants on its basis. He asked that the appellants the given the benefit of doubt and be acquitted.

The additional prosecutor general of Sindh submitted that the delay of 50 hours was explained by the prosecution properly in evidence and independent witnesses supported the case of the prosecution, especially the shopkeeper from whom the deceased had purchased fish at the time of the offence.

He said minor defects in the identification parade were not sufficient to discard other direct evidence; besides, eyewitnesses deposed against the appellants and they were not chance witnesses and were with the victim being his family members.

He submitted that the prosecution had proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt and therefore requested that the convictions awarded by the trial court to the appellants be maintained and the appeals dismissed.

A division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, after hearing the arguments of the counsel and perusal of the evidence, observed that the o appellants were correctly identified by the eyewitnesses, who had been in the car of the victim and had clearly seen the two just a few feet away from them. The bench said the correct identification by the eyewitnesses was confirmed through the parade held before the magistrate.

It said offences of target killing, mobile snatching, other street crimes, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and murder during robbery are increasing day by day, especially in Karachi, which is the heart of Pakistan and the people are feeling insecure. The court observed that people are avoiding to visit parks and shopping centres with their families due to danger to their lives as well as the risk of theft of their property such as mobile phones at the hands of criminals.

It further observed that when the courts are deciding a criminal case, they must keep in mind that they are also guardians of the citizens and that the complainant/victims’ rights cannot be ignored. It said that where in the evidence the prosecution has established its case beyond any reasonable doubt, and if there are some minor contradictions, which always are available in each and every case as no one can give evidence like a photograph, they may be ignored.

The court observed that the eyewitnesses fully supported the case of the prosecution, who were the natural witnesses, the evidence of the witnesses was fully supported by medical evidence, and the robbed pistol of the deceased was recovered from Farman Ali. It further said that the prosecution proved beyond any reasonable doubt that appellant Jahangir suffered a firearm injury during the robbery at the hands of the victim, and the empties found at the scene matched the pistols found on the appellants at the time of their arrest.

The bench observed that the appellants were righty identified in the identification parade held in presence of the judicial magistrate and as such the prosecution had proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt through trustworthy, reliable as well as supportive evidence.

It ruled that keeping in view the brutality of the crime where one innocent person was murdered in front of his family, especially minor children, when he was purchasing fish for them, the complete lack of mitigating circumstances and in fact the presence of aggravating circumstances as mentioned above whereby the victim suffered seven firearm injuries, and the need to discourage such kinds of offences in Karachi, which regrettably were most common at the time when these offences were committed and are continuing, we are of the view that a deterrent sentence is the appropriate one.

The court dismissed the appeals of the convicts and upheld the death sentences.