ISLAMABAD    -  The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday direct­ed that the appeal against the death sentence of the accused for killing his wife by throwing acid be set before a three-judge bench, observing that throwing acid on women was a crime against so­ciety. A two-member SC bench comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Ak­bar Naqvi observed while hearing the appeal.

During the course of proceedings, the counsel for the accused argued that the presence of witnesses on the crime scene was not proved. On which Jus­tice Ijaz asked if the witnesses were not present on the spot, then did the women throw acid on them­selves? He said that the wife of the accused was killed while three other women received burns as a result of the acid attack.

Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi said throwing acid on women was a crime against society. The lawyer pointed out the flaws in the investigation and said that the entire investigation by the po­lice was full of flaws. Upon this, Justice Mazahar said that there were normal mistakes in the inves­tigation of every case. If the investigation did not spoil the facts of the case, there was not a prob­lem, he added.