Law: Penal Code (XLV of 1860)

Section: 302

Penal Code (XLV of 1860)  S. 302 MurderDivision Bench of High Court maintaining con viction of accused but differing on question of sentence One member commuting sentence of death to life imprisonment on grounds that (i) parties were close relatives ; (ii) they had no serious enmity, (iii) marks of pellets showing something did happen between parties before accused shot deceased, and other confirming. death sentence Third Judge, on reference. favouring verdict of latter Member and thus on majority view death sentence confirmed  Supreme Court, on appeal, agreed with view of differing Judge and converted sentence of death into that of life imprisonment.[Practice and procedureSentence]. Date of hearing : 2nd October, 1979.                                                                                                                             JUDGMENT NASIM HASAN SHAH, J.This appeal has been admitted only on the question of sentence and therefore the following recital of facts will suffice : The appellant, Sher Ali, aged 65 years (at the time when the case was heard by the High Court in 1974) was tried by the Sessions Judge, Bannu, on a charge under section 302, P. P. C. The learned Sessions Judge convicted him of the said charge by his order dated 4th December 1973 and sentenced him to suffer death. The convict filed an appeal from the Jail against the order of his conviction to the Peshawar High Court and the mater was also referred to it by the Sessions Judge for confirmation of the death sentence. The case was heard by a Division Bench of the High Court consisting of Qaiser Khan and Abdul Hakeem Khan, JJ., who both found that the appellant had been rightly convicted under section 302, P. P. C: but differed on the question of sentence. According to Qaiser Khan, J, the extreme penalty of death was not called for. He, therefore, reduced the…