ISLAMABAD (APP): The Sindh government on Friday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court (SC) regarding acquittal of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other accused allegedly involved in American Journalist Daniel Pearl murder case.
The provincial government through its prosecutor general moved three criminal review petitions in the apex court, pleading to review its decision of acquitting the main accused. The provincial government has also requested the SC to pass a restraining order regarding release of accused persons forthwith.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi on Thursday issued short order. One member of the bench opposed the decision. The bench ruled that it would issue a detailed verdict later on.
The review petition stated 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.
The petition further stated that admission of guilt by Omar Sheikh during remand, before the learned presiding judge of anti-terrorism court Karachi was part off the judicial proceedings and thus legal sanctity was attached thereto under Article 91 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Ordinance, 1984 but the 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.
“That the Hon’ble 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 Hon’ble Court.”
“The Hon’ble High Court on grossly misconceived premises held the confessional statements to be inadmissible in evidence where no rebuttal came on record against such confessional statements nor any of the accused/Respondent filed any complaint against the recording of such confessional statement. In the absence of this irrefutable piece of evidence, the discarding of confessional statement on the ground of delay of 27 days and element of presumptive inducement was completely unwarranted. The certificate attached with the Confessional Statement of the Respondent/accused carry weight and legal sanctity as mandated by the Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order, 1984,” added the review petition.
The petition said, “That the Hon’ble High Court neither referred to nor considered the established impersonation of the Res-pondent Ahmed Omer Saeed Sheikh alias/Aka basher, corroborated thro-ugh identification parade by PW-6 at Exh.36 and alias/aka Muzaffar Farooqi through identification par-ade by PW-7. The Hon’ble High Court has ignored the fact that the Respondent have not alleged any enmity against both PW-6 and PW-7 who were independent and natural witnesses and had no enmity with the accused. In such situation the evidence of conspiracy could be brushed aside by the Court.”
The review petition by the provincial government further said, “The voluntary Judicial confessions made by the accused Salman Saqib and Fahad Nasim before the competent court were retacted on flimsy premises yet the Hon’ble High Court while giving undue weightage to such retraction did not consider the principles settled by this Hon’ble Court on the subject and has materially erred. As per Shaukat Ali’s case cited as PLD 2019 SC 577 and 2015 SCMR 856 even a retracted confession could form basis for conviction if found voluntarily and truthful. Thus the rule laid down by this Hon’ble Court has not been followed resulting in grave miscarriage of justice”.
