The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the life imprisonment sentence awarded to convict Taimoor Sattar in the double murder case of his parents and ruled that the two life sentences shall run consecutively rather than concurrently.
According to the approved detailed judgment issued for reporting purposes, a three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim dismissed Jail Petition No. 575 of 2018 and declined leave to appeal against the judgment of the Lahore High Court.
The judgment stated that on February 10, 2010, the convict murdered his father, Abdul Sattar, and mother, Shamim Sattar, inside their home with a hammer after becoming upset over their refusal to transfer property in his name. The trial court had awarded him two death sentences, which were later converted into life imprisonment by the Lahore High Court.
The Supreme Court observed that the prosecution had successfully established its case through strong circumstantial evidence, including an extra-judicial confession, medical evidence, forensic reports, recovery of the murder weapon and blood-stained clothes.
The Court noted that the convict remained absconding for ten days after the incident and provided contradictory and false information to his father’s employer and the complainant, which constituted an important incriminating circumstance against him.
The judgment further stated that although an extra-judicial confession is generally regarded as a weak form of evidence, in the present case it was fully corroborated by other independent evidence on record. Moreover, the convict admitted to killing his parents in his statement recorded under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, lending further support to the prosecution’s case.
The Court held that the convict had failed to present any mitigating circumstance warranting leniency. It observed that the brutal killing of his own helpless parents inside their home was an extremely grave offence that violated fundamental social and moral values, making a stern punishment imperative.
Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the jail petition and directed that the two life imprisonment sentences shall be served consecutively, meaning one sentence will commence after the completion of the other.