SAJJAD HUSSAIN vs THE STATE
This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal directed against the judgment of the Lahore High Court, which upheld the petitioner's conviction and death sentence under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 for the murder of Muhammad Sadiq. The core legal question before the Supreme Court was whether mitigating circumstances existed to warrant a reduction of the sentence of death to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court held that no extenuating circumstances existed, noting that the petitioner had no right to object to the marriage of his niece to the deceased in the presence of her father and had inflicted seven fatal injuries upon the deceased. Consequently, the petition for leave to appeal was dismissed and the death sentence confirmed. The key principle laid down is that the absence of mitigating circumstances, coupled with the brutal nature of the attack and lack of justification for the offender's grievance, justifies the confirmation of the death penalty.
- Whether the absence of mitigating circumstances justifies the confirmation of a death sentence for murder?
- Can a paternal uncle claim a right to object to the marriage of his niece when her father has consented?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
ORDER
' ALI HUSSAIN QAZILBASH, J.--This is a petition for leave to appeal against the judgment of a learned Division Bench of the Lahore High Court dated 20-2-1985.
2. Sajjad Hussain petitioner was convicted under section 302, P.P.C. For the murder of Muhammad Sadiq by the learned Sessions Judge, Rahimyar Khan, vide his judgment dated 30-10-1983, and was sentenced to death and a fine of Rs,3,000 or in default to one year's R.I. His appeal in the High Court also met the same fate. We need not give the facts of the case in that the learned counsel for the petitioner has not challenged the conviction of the petitioner for committing the murder of Muhammad Sadiq on merits but he has prayed for lesser sentence to his client.
3. A plea of lesser sentence was also made in the High Court but the same was repelled as under: "We have also examined this case to consider the quantum of sentence awarded by the trial Court to Sajjad Hussain appellant. We have not been able to find any mitigating circumstance for lesser punishment. The accused had no right to object to the marriage of Mst. Shamim Mai, a daughter of his brother to Muhammad Siddique deceased. He went armed to the courtyard of Muhammad Siddique deceased. He inflicted many fatal blows on the person of the deceased and committed his intentional murder. In this view of the matter, we maintain the conviction and sentence of Sajjad Hussain appellant. The sentence of death is confirmed."
The above finding in the light of the material on the record is unexceptionable in that the petitioner had no right to object to the marriage of his niece to the deceased, moreso in the presence of her father who had given her hand to Muhammad Siddique. Furthermore, the petitioner had inflicted as many as seven injuries on the person of the deceased. Thus, there does not exist any extenuating circumstance to reduce the sentence of the petitioner. The petition is dismissed.