ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday heard appeals against convictions in Shahzeb murder case and sought the complete record of the case.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Mabool Baqar heard the case. The bench directed the petitioner’s counsel to submit case papers to the court in a proper arrangement.
The convicts Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur have appealed against their life imprisonment in the murder case. The court also issued notice over Shahrukh Jatoi’s appeal to the members of the aggrieved family. The counsel for the suspects argued before the bench that their sentences have been commuted after a compromise was reached between the two sides.
Justice Qazi Ameen asked the lawyer to submit the agreement between the parties in the court. He told the judge that court papers are not in order and should be resubmitted. The bench adjourned further hearing of the case for three weeks.
Shahzeb Khan, aged 20, was gunned down on the night of December 24, 2012, in Karachi’s Defence Housing Society. The incident sparked outrage across the country prompting then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu notice of the murder.
In 2013, Shahrukh Jatoi and his friend Siraj Talpur were sentenced to death. Another suspect Sajjad Talpur and their domestic cook Ghulam Murtaza Lashari were awarded life imprisonment by an anti-terrorism court.
On 15th July 2019, the Sindh High Court (SHC) appellate bench overturned their sentences and sent the case back to the session’s court for a fresh trial. In 2018, the Supreme Court had set aside the SHC’s verdict that had paved the way for the release of Shahrukh Jatoi and others on bail.
In 2013, Shahzeb Khan’s parents had decided to pardon the culprits responsible for the murder of their son. His father DSP Aurangzeb has since moved passed away while the family has moved abroad.
