LAHORE, June 6: A division bench of the Lahore High Court awarded death penalty to a murderer despite being pardoned by the wali or legal heir of his victim.

Appellant Siddique did not approve of his daughter, Salma, marrying a man of her choice and of her free will. After about two years of marriage he invited the couple for ‘reconciliation’ and killed both along with their infant daughter. He was sentenced to death by a sessions court under the law of qisas.

When the matter came before the high court, he produced a pardon granted by the mother of his son-in-law. The bench comprising Justices Tasadduq Husain Jilani and Asif Saeed Khan Khosa refused to acquit him on the basis of the pardon. The bench observed that the multiple murder was a deliberate, premeditated act and there were no mitigating circumstances.

While Siddique could not be condemned under the law of qisas in view of the pardon, he could be awarded death penalty under taazir, the bench observed, upholding the capital punishment.

Wattoo appeal: The Lahore High Court took up an appeal moved by former chief minister Manzoor Wattoo against his conviction in an accountability case on Thursday and fixed June 13 for further hearing.

Appearing for the appellant, Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Khan argued that the reference against Mr Wattoo, made under the Ehtesab Ordinance, 1996, abated on the enactment of the Ehtesab Act.

The ex-CM was convicted by an accountability court and sentenced to undergo three years imprisonment and pay Rs10 million as fine. He was alleged to have paid a private firm Rs1.1 million out of discretionary funds for furnishing the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Deputy Attorney-General Sher Zaman Khan, who prosecuted the reference before the accountability court, will defend its judgment on behalf of the National Accountability Bureau. The appellate bench comprises Justices Tasadduq Husain Jilani and Mian Saqib Nisar.

TAJ COMPANY: The court decided on Thursday to drop proceedings involving newspaper editors in the Taj Company case. Justice Jawad S Khwaja had issued notices on an application filed by a group of depositors of the collapsed company. The notices were meant to enable them to make submissions, if any, personally or through their counsel.

LHC REQUESTED: Twenty-five contract employees of the Pakistan International Airlines, working on daily wages, have requested the Lahore High Court to implement its judgment in their favour.

In a communication to the LHC office through Advocate MA Ghani Chaudhry, they said they had been making applications against the management for its failure to regularize their services in accordance with an LHC order made in July 2000. The order has been upheld by a division bench but they continue to be deprived of its benefits.

The employees urged the LHC office to place their grievance before the judge who passed the order in 2000 because it pertained to non-compliance with his direction.