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ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (APP):The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has upheld the sentence of life imprisonment in a murder case while dismissing both petitions filed before it. The apex court rejected the appeal of the accused, Usman Mehboob alias Osama, thereby maintaining the verdict of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench, which had earlier converted his death sentence into life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court ruled that since the prosecution failed to establish motive, it was not appropriate to sustain the death penalty. Therefore, the High Court’s decision was fully in accordance with the law and justice.
According to the detailed judgment issued by the Supreme Court, a three-member bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and comprising Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi, dismissed Jail Petition No. 516/2021 and Criminal Petition No. 1215/2021.
As per the FIR, on May 19, 2017, during a ceremony in Kahuta, the accused fired 7 to 8 shots at the victim, Adnan Javed, who later succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the hospital. The trial court had sentenced the accused to death and ordered him to pay Rs. 200,000 as compensation. The High Court later commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment while upholding the compensation.
Before the Supreme Court, the defence counsel sought acquittal based on minor discrepancies in witness testimonies, failure to preserve spent bullet casings, and alleged errors in the site plan. However, the Court held that such objections were inconsequential, stating that minor contradictions in statements are natural, especially when the incident occurred in front of multiple eyewitnesses.
The Court observed that the record clearly showed the accused had fired multiple shots at the victim; however, due to the absence of a proven motive, the High Court had rightly extended leniency by converting the death sentence to life imprisonment. The judgment also referenced two Supreme Court precedents from 2025 affirming the principle that in cases lacking motive, the death penalty should not be imposed.
During the hearing, when the Court orally announced the dismissal of the accused’s appeal, the complainant’s counsel withdrew his petition seeking restoration of the death penalty, which was accordingly dismissed.
The Supreme Court concluded in its detailed reasons that the High Court’s decision contained no legal or evidentiary flaws, leaving no grounds for interference.