ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has fixed a hearing for the review petition filed by the Sindh government against the acquittal of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the principal accused in Daniel Pearl murder case.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Umar Atta Bandial will hear the petition on Monday. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar are the other members of the bench.
Meanwhile, the federal government on Saturday decided to become a party in the abduction and murder case of the US journalist Daniel Pearl.
A spokesman at the attorney general’s office, while confirming the report, said that the federal government will file an application in the Supreme Court (SC) to become a party in the Daniel Pearl murder case. He maintained that the government will plead with the apex court to form a larger bench for hearing of the review petition filed by the Sindh government in the case.
Earlier on Friday last, a day after filing review petitions against acquittal of four murder accused of US journalist Daniel Pearl, the prosecutor general of Sindh urged the top court to review its short order on the grounds that Supreme Court has disregarded the confessional statements of all the accused in the matter. Prosecutor General Sindh Dr Fiaz Shah also requested the top court for an early hearing of the matter.
“Being aggrieved of and dissatisfied with the judgement of the full bench of this Honourable Court comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi (the latter partly dissenting) in criminal appeal No. 601 of 2020 dated 28.01.21, the petitioner files the instant criminal review petition for leave to appeal on questions of law, facts and ground,” Shah submitted.
Sindh Prosecutor General filed three criminal review petitions against majority judgement seeking the Supreme Court’s directives to pass a restraining order regarding release of accused persons forthwith.
Shah submitted that the offences created a sense of fear and terror in the minds of the public at large, both nationally and internationally as such all the accused were guilty of the charges levelled against them on all counts.
Filing a list of grounds to substantiate the review petitions the Prosecutor General said admission of guilt by Ahmed Omar Sheikh during remand, before the learned presiding judge of anti-terrorism court Karachi is part of the judicial proceedings and thus legal sanctity is attached thereto under Article 91 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Ordinance, 1984 but the Hon’ble High Court failed to consider this important fact of the case in true perspective thereby seriously misled itself to the conclusion arrived at in the impugned judgment.
He further submitted, "That the High Court has failed to appreciate the aggravating factors involved in the case. On the contrary, the acquittal of the accused and modification of death sentence in the absence of the mitigating circumstance caused a serious miscarriage of any justice and violates the principles settled down by this Honourable Court. "
While talking to TLTP criminal lawyer of the town Advocate Saadullah Naul said that there are pretty less chances of success in this case, adding confessional statements were retracted and though retracted confession carry some weight if corroborated by independent evidence. He was of the view that chain to chain link of crime with the accused persons is hard to establish. So, only agitation on this ground is relegating this petition to a traditional part of litigation rather than any of assertions backed by any substantial claim. TLTP
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Umar Atta Bandial will hear the petition on Monday. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar are the other members of the bench.
Meanwhile, the federal government on Saturday decided to become a party in the abduction and murder case of the US journalist Daniel Pearl.
A spokesman at the attorney general’s office, while confirming the report, said that the federal government will file an application in the Supreme Court (SC) to become a party in the Daniel Pearl murder case. He maintained that the government will plead with the apex court to form a larger bench for hearing of the review petition filed by the Sindh government in the case.
Earlier on Friday last, a day after filing review petitions against acquittal of four murder accused of US journalist Daniel Pearl, the prosecutor general of Sindh urged the top court to review its short order on the grounds that Supreme Court has disregarded the confessional statements of all the accused in the matter. Prosecutor General Sindh Dr Fiaz Shah also requested the top court for an early hearing of the matter.
“Being aggrieved of and dissatisfied with the judgement of the full bench of this Honourable Court comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi (the latter partly dissenting) in criminal appeal No. 601 of 2020 dated 28.01.21, the petitioner files the instant criminal review petition for leave to appeal on questions of law, facts and ground,” Shah submitted.
Sindh Prosecutor General filed three criminal review petitions against majority judgement seeking the Supreme Court’s directives to pass a restraining order regarding release of accused persons forthwith.
Shah submitted that the offences created a sense of fear and terror in the minds of the public at large, both nationally and internationally as such all the accused were guilty of the charges levelled against them on all counts.
Filing a list of grounds to substantiate the review petitions the Prosecutor General said admission of guilt by Ahmed Omar Sheikh during remand, before the learned presiding judge of anti-terrorism court Karachi is part of the judicial proceedings and thus legal sanctity is attached thereto under Article 91 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Ordinance, 1984 but the Hon’ble High Court failed to consider this important fact of the case in true perspective thereby seriously misled itself to the conclusion arrived at in the impugned judgment.
He further submitted, "That the High Court has failed to appreciate the aggravating factors involved in the case. On the contrary, the acquittal of the accused and modification of death sentence in the absence of the mitigating circumstance caused a serious miscarriage of any justice and violates the principles settled down by this Honourable Court. "
While talking to TLTP criminal lawyer of the town Advocate Saadullah Naul said that there are pretty less chances of success in this case, adding confessional statements were retracted and though retracted confession carry some weight if corroborated by independent evidence. He was of the view that chain to chain link of crime with the accused persons is hard to establish. So, only agitation on this ground is relegating this petition to a traditional part of litigation rather than any of assertions backed by any substantial claim. TLTP