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PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by a convict against his death sentence in a case involving the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Mardan, upholding the trial court’s verdict.
The appeal was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan. Counsel for the victim, Naeemullah Advocate, and counsel for the convict appeared before the court.
During the hearing, the convict’s lawyer told the court that his client, Akhtar Hussain, had been accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl in Mardan and that the trial court had sentenced him to death three times.
The counsel argued that his client had been implicated in the case and that there were contradictions in the medical evidence. He further contended that the police had overlooked several legal aspects of the case.
The defence counsel maintained that the sentence awarded by the trial court was not justified and could not be sustained in the eyes of law, and pleaded with the court to acquit the convict.
During the hearing, the victim’s counsel told the court that the convict had sexually assaulted the seven-year-old girl in Mardan in 2020 and subsequently murdered her. He said the post-mortem report had confirmed sexual assault and that sufficient evidence was available against the convict.
He further submitted that the charge against the convict had been proved before the trial court and that he did not deserve any leniency. The trial court had awarded him the death penalty after finding him guilty, he added.
