HC states law does not allow death penalty for Noor's killer

High Court has ordered a sentence reviewal on the convicted juvenile in the murder of Noor Adam.

Although the juvenile suspected of killing Noor near Indira Gadhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) was found guilty, the current law does not allow death penalty on offenders who are not of legal age to consent.

A group of attackers had stabbed Noor in March 2015 near IGMH, following which two juveniles were arrested for their involvement in the stabbing. Out of the two, Juvenile Court earlier ordered death penalty on one of the minors.

While the suspect recently turned 18, their identity has been kept concealed since the Children's Rights Act demands against revealing the identifies of minors who commit crimes.

State had submitted the case to the first appellate court to review the sentence and ascertain the death penalty. High Court on Sunday, October 22 said that the minor's involvement in the murder was confirmed with the testimonies of three witnesses along with supporting evidence.

The medico-legal report also confirmed Noor died from the deep cuts he received from an eight-inch knife, which proves first degree murder, the court added.

The court order stated that the penalty for murder under Islamic Shari'ah is death, provided all the next of kin of the victim consents for it.

However, since the offender murdered Noor while they were a minor, the order said that the convict cannot be charged with death penalty according to the Juvenile Justice Act.

High Court in its order said that Juvenile Court is required to revise the punishment despite the conviction of murder charges.

All three judges who presided over the cause upheld the lower court's order, but ordered a sentencing review to the Juvenile Court.

One of the presiding judges in the case, Justice Mohamed Niyaz said that a conviction of first degree murder strips away the legal right to live for the convicted, and noted that while the right to life is ensured for everyone, in the case of a first degree murder this right should not act as an intravenous to the death penalty.

Besides Niyaz, the bench included Justices Mohamed Faisal and Mohamed Saleem, while the bench was chaired by Faisal.

In 2022, two other convicts in Noor's murder sentenced with life imprisonment, with another minor involved in the case sentenced to 10 years in jail.