 A full bench of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Friday declared awarding a sentence of limb amputation without Tazkiya Al-Shahood (two witnesses) un-Islamic, and set aside the limb amputation sentence awarded to a convict by a trial court in a robbery case.| "Amputations must be by the Book, sez we! Allanu Snackbar!" |
| Um, 'snackbar' and the butcher shop photo don't ... um .... I think I'll have a pizza for lunch today instead. A vegetarian one. |
The bench, consisting of FSC Chief Justice Haziqul Khairi, Justice Salahuddin Mirza and Justice Allama Fida Muhammad, set aside the orders issued on January 26, 2006, by Peshawar District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Jamal Khan to cut off the right hand and left foot of Afghan national Ajab Khan under Section 17 (3) of the Offence of the Hudood Ordinance, 1979. The bench, however, maintained the sentence of a five-year imprisonment and a Rs 30,000 fine under Section 412 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for the accused.
During the hearing of an appeal, the FSC bench said that if judges continued awarding sentences without fulfilling the condition of Tazkiya Al-Shahood, thousands of robbers in Karachi would lose their hands and legs due to the increasing incidents of robberies there.
The bench said the judges must observe whether or not the witnesses met the requirement of Tazkiya Al-Shahood while convicting under the Hadd (sentencing a person under Section 17(3) of the Offence against Property or Enforcement of Hudood Ordinance, 1979) and that a trial court must first conduct a proper inquiry to find out if the witnesses had committed any offences. |