That the main accused in the Noor Mukaddam murder case should have been cvonvicted and given the death sentence should not be a suprise, for not only was the muder brutal, even bestial, but there was virtually no attempt at concealment leaving the judge almost no option but to convict, and impose the maximum penalty. The case had convulsed the whole country, not just Islamabad where it happened, because of the social prominence of both victim and accused. While the main accused was a scion of the famous Jaffer family, the victim was the daughter of a retired ambassador.
The relative swiftness of the trial was a result of this, not just the attention which focused on the case. The acquittal of all other accused, including the parents of the main accused may provide grounds for appeal, but that is for the appellate forum to decide when the time comes. However, in the midst of all the emotions raised by the case, it should not be ignored that trial courts can make decisions relatively swiftly, and the delays in trials are actively sought by both the parties and the lawyers. While the case did show that criminality, indeed murder, has no class, it cannot be denied that criminal accused are usually the poor. That such people not only carry the disadvantages attaching to poverty, but also the denial of justice implied in its being delayed. The Noor Mukaddam case raises questions about the performance of the courts.
At the same time, the persistence shown by the victim’s father in seeking Justice for his daughter must also be appreciated. Too often, such cases end suddenly in the acquittal of the accused because the victim’s heirs have taken blood money, or have compounded the offence. The government must not close the file on this case, or regard it as over. With the death sentence, the High Court has to consider a revision, while the persistence with which the defence was conducted makes a recourse to the Supreme Court inevitable. Only when the trial court issues its detailed judgement, will it be possible to speculate about possible grounds of appeal. It should be remembered thatit is not just the conviction that the defence will seek to overturn, but the capital punishment. However, until an appellate forum takes such a decision, public attention will probably move on to some other case.
