ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court yesterday declared that the killing in the name of honour does not fall under the jurisdiction of Anti-Terrorism Act.
A man in April 2014 along with his sons killed his real daughter in Mastung district. An FIR was registered against them in June 2014. The police after the investigation filed a challan in the District and Sessions Court, Mastung.
The prosecution pleaded before the court that Khuda-e-Noor killed his daughter because she had developed illicit relationship with a boy of his area. The court on that basis referred the matter to Anti-Terrorism Court. The accused filed an appeal against the order before the Balochistan High Court, which upheld the sessions court’s verdict and said according to section 6(2)(g) of ATA 1997 the accused should be tried in the anti-terrorism court.
The accused challenged the BHC order in the Supreme Court. A three-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa yesterday after hearing the arguments of additional prosecutor general, Balochistan, and the accused counsel set aside the BHC order.
The apex court in its order ruled that if the interpretation is accepted then everybody will take law in his hand. “The Balochistan High Court did not lay down the law correctly,” the order further said.
The court observed that in FIR the case was of murder but the prosecution had changed it and made it honour killing. The charges levelled in the FIR do not fall in the purview of ATA 1997, the order said, and added: “The decision of Sessions Court for the trial of accused in the Anti-Terrorism Court was wrong.” During the proceedings, Justice Khosa remarked that though there are reasons behind every murder but every murder does not cause fear and insecurity in the society.