MUBARIK Alias MARRI vs The STATE
The petitioner, Mubarik alias Marri, was convicted under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Faisalabad, and sentenced to death, a decision subsequently upheld by the High Court. The petitioner filed two separate petitions for special leave to appeal against his conviction: one through counsel and another through jail. Due to an administrative oversight, the jail petition was not brought to the Court's attention when the counsel-filed petition was heard and dismissed on its merits. The second petition, submitted through jail, was filed with a delay of 58 days. The Supreme Court addressed the procedural irregularity and the issue of limitation. The Court held that since the initial petition had already been heard and dismissed on merits after providing the petitioner's counsel a full hearing, and given that the subsequent jail petition was time-barred by 58 days, there were no grounds to entertain the second petition. Consequently, the Court dismissed the jail petition.
- Can a second petition for special leave to appeal be entertained when a prior petition filed through counsel has already been dismissed on merits?
- Does a delay of 58 days in filing a jail petition for special leave to appeal warrant dismissal when the merits of the case were previously adjudicated?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
1. SAAD SAOOD JAN, J.--The petitioner, Mubarik alias Marri was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Faisalabad of an offence under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and was sentenced to death. His conviction and sentence were maintained and confirmed by the High Court. He preferred two petitions for special leave to appeal. One was directly filed in this Court through counsel and the other was submitted through jail. Unfortunately when the petition directly filed in this Court came up for hearing the jail petition was not brought to our notice. The former petition was dismissed on merits after the petitioner's counsel had been given a hearing. The second petition preferred through jail is barred by 58 days. In the circumstances we would dismiss this petition as well.