Daily Times

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday terminated a judgment regarding 25 years imprisonment sentence to an accused for killing a girl on refusing marriage proposal.

The court said that in the sentence of a murder in normal circumstances is death penalty but it could be reduced to lifetime imprisonment on certain parameters.

IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the case against the judgment of the trial court and issued order. The decision said that the trial court must provide reasons for not awarding the death penalty.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani wrote that the entire judgment of the trial court failed to explain the award of 25 years, the appellant’s lawyer and the State Counsel could not provide any justifiable reason when asked about the 25 years of imprisonment. It said that the trial court could not justify the award of 25 years of rigorous imprisonment in the final paragraph.

The judgment said that according to the plaintiff, Shahzad pursued the girl for 5 months and then sent marriage proposal for her. According to the lawyer, the culprit threatened to kill the girl and her father on her refusal to marry and the girl was shot in the head at 9:30 am on November 30, 2020. The court wrote that the trial court sentenced the accused to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 302C. The question arises whether the trial court could have considered the matter under Section 302C.

The Islamabad High Court said in its decision that the sentence is set aside and the case is remanded back for retrial. The trial court should give both the parties an opportunity to be heard and give a reasoned decision within 45 days.