ASLAM RIAZ HUSSAIN, J.-- Maqbool Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad and Muhammad Ahmad petitioners were tried along with another for the murder to Nazir Ahmad by giving him dagger blows in his abdomen and for making murderous assault on Faqir Muhammad, and Sardara, P.Ws. , who sustained injuries during the incident. The trial Court acquitted one of the co-accused namely Mahboob Ahmad while it, inter alia sentenced Maqbool Ahmad petitioner to death and a fine of Rs.2,000 and 2 years' R.I. In default of payment of fine, and sentenced Muhammad Arshad and Mahmood Ahmad to imprisonment for life. Their appeal before the High Court failed and the death sentence of Maqbool Ahmad petitioner was confirmed.
They have now come up before this Court through a petition for leave to appeal.
2. We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioners at some length. He has no case on merits.
He, however, prays for reduction in sentence on the ground that Maqbool Ahmad petitioner had suffered the agony of death cell for about 8] years and that this in itself should be taken as a mitigating circumstance for reducing his sentence from death to that imprisonment for life.
3. Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, learned counsel for the Caveator however, submitted on the other hand, that the delay caused by filing successive appeals by the petitioner himself and the fact that hearing of appeals, in the circumstances prevalent at present, is generally delayed because Courts are clogged with a large number of cases or appeals with the result that they come up for hearing after considerable time, should not by itself affect the right of the deceased and his heirs and other members of his family, to obtain justice by way of an appropriate sentence of the crime committed by the accused.
Leave is therefore granted to consider the above-mentioned contentions raised by the learned counsel for the parties.
Since the matter has already been delayed considerably let the appeal be fixed for hearing on the 3rd of November, 1986, at Lahore.
Notice to the Advocate-General shall also be issued for that date.
A representative of the Inspector-General (Prisons) should be present in Court on that date.