Mr Awan in his appeal had maintained that police constable Mumtaz Qadri had killed Mr Taseer because no criminal case was registered against the governor for criticising the blasphemy laws in public. - Photo by AP

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday set aside an intra-court appeal seeking cancellation of a case against Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, primarily on technical grounds. The bench comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan maintained in the judgment that the appeal was not maintainable for hearing as the appellant, Advocate Zaffar Awan of Chakwal, was not aggrieved in the case.

Justice Kasi had thrown away the petition of Mr Awan, saying no citizen could be allowed or encouraged to take the law into his own hands. The alleged blasphemer could have been tried in a court of law and penalised through a due process of law, the court had observed.

The division bench of the Islamabad High Court had reserved its verdict about the maintainability of the appeal on Tuesday.

Mr Awan in his appeal had maintained that police constable Mumtaz Qadri had killed Mr Taseer because no criminal case was registered against the governor for criticising the blasphemy laws in public.

A petition was moved in the Lahore High Court in November last year for registration of a criminal case against the governor, but the petition was returned with the observation that the high court could not proceed against the governor as he enjoyed constitutional immunity, the appellant had maintained.