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| India-Pakistan |
| Tayyaba torture case: Supreme Court sets aside increased sentence of former judge, wife |
| 2020-01-11 |
| [DAWN] The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the extended three-year sentence against former additional district and sessions judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar ‐ for torturing a minor girl employed as domestic help in Islamabad ‐ maintaining the one year sentence handed down by the Islamabad High Court in April 2018. Nine months ago, in May 2019, the apex court had reserved its judgement on appeals filed by the judge and his wife. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam had taken up appeals filed by Khan and his wife, who had first been sentenced to a year in jail in April 2018 for keeping the then 10-year-old Taiba in wrongful confinement, burning her hand over a missing broom, beating her with a ladle, detaining her in a storeroom, and threatening her of "dire consequences". In June 2018, when both convicts appealed against the sentence, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had increased their jail time from one year to three years, with a Rs500,000 fine. In the verdict announced today, the apex court set aside the three year sentence and maintained the earlier one year jail term for the convicts. The written judgement announced in an open court today, authored by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Yayha Afridi, presented a similar judgement on both the convicts' appeals. The court said that the conviction and initial sentence awarded to the convicts will be maintained. "While maintaining her conviction under Section 328-A PPC, the sentence enhanced from one year simple imprisonment to that of three years by the Division Bench of the High Court in its judgement dated 11.06.2018 is set aside," the judgement stated, while reffering to Zafar's case. Related: Raja Khurram Ali Khan: 2019-05-09 Tayyaba torture case: SC reserves verdict on appeals of convicts Raja Khurram Ali Khan: 2018-06-13 IHC increases sentence for couple convicted in Tayyaba case Raja Khurram Ali Khan: 2018-06-05 Tayyaba torture case: CJP orders IHC to settle appeals of accused within a week |
| Posted by:Fred |