Supreme Court Resumes Hearing in Noor Mukadam Case: Key Takeaways and Developments

The Supreme Court has resumed hearing the high-profile appeal of Zahir Jaffer against his death sentence in the Noor Mukadam case. A three-member bench, comprising Justices Hashim Kakar, Ishtiaq Ibrahim, and Ali Baqar Najafi, is hearing the case. The court is expected to deliberate on the appeal, which challenges the conviction of Jaffer for murdering his cousin, Noor Mukadam, in Islamabad. The hearing has seen defence lawyer Salman Safdar presenting medical history of Jaffer dating back to 2013 and arguing that the death sentence was awarded for murder, life for rape, and 10 years for kidnapping.

Key Takeaways:

• The three-member bench is hearing the appeal against Zahir Jaffer's death sentence in the Noor Mukadam case, with Justice Hashim Kakar observing that the evidence in the case appears circumstantial.
• Defence lawyer Salman Safdar has submitted Jaffer's medical history dating back to 2013, arguing that the death sentence was awarded for murder, life for rape, and 10 years for kidnapping.
• Safdar pointed out the lack of forensic evidence from Jaffer's residence and raised questions about the post-mortem timeline, suggesting that the prosecution relied heavily on CCTV footage and a photogrammetric test.
• Justice Kakar acknowledged the court's reliance on a judicial precedent set by former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa on audio-video evidence authentication.
• The complainant's counsel has added that some employees of Therapy Clinic have been nominated for allegedly concealing facts related to the incident.
• The case has seen multiple twists, including the initial FIR only including murder charges, while rape and kidnapping were added nearly three weeks later.

Statistics:

• 2013: The year Jaffer's medical history dating back to 2013 became relevant in the case.
• 3: Number of people who stated they witnessed the murder, as per Justice Kakar's observation.
• 7: Number of people present at the scene of the crime, according to Justice Kakar.
• 3 weeks: The timeframe in which rape and kidnapping charges were added to the FIR.
• 1: Number of prosecution witnesses who were not state witnesses, excluding complainant Shaukat Mukadam.

Sources:

• "Supreme Court resumes hearing in Zahir Jaffer's appeal against death sentence - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune (n.d.).