Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 11: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Mohan Lal has upheld the life-imprisonment awarded by Additional Sessions Judge Handwara to militant namely Mushtaq Ahmad Malla.
According to the prosecution case, on 22.12.2005, an information was received at the Police Station Handwara that two militants including one identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Malla, son of Ghulam Ahmad Malla of Shotgund, have killed one person namely Tariq Ahmad Malik, son of Abdul Qayoom Malik of Guloora by firing indiscriminately at Adoura and his dead-body is lying on the spot.
On receipt of this information, FIR No. 337/2005 was registered for the commission of offences under Sections 302 RPC and 7/27 Arms Act and after completion of investigation challan was presented and on December 31, 2021, accused was sentenced to life-imprisonment.
After hearing both the sides, the DB observed, “trial court has considered all the issues raised by the accused-appellant before the trial court and each issue has been dealt with by the trial court in accordance with law by placing reliance on various pronouncements of the Apex Court”.
“Trial court though has convicted the appellant for the commission of offence punishable under Section 7/27 of Arms Act but has rightly not sentenced him for the punishment prescribed under Sub Section 3 of Section 27 of Arms Act because the Apex Court has declared the Sub Section 3 of Section 27 of Arms Act as unconstitutional”, the DB said, adding “trial court has after holding the appellant guilty for the commission of offence punishable under Section 302 RPC sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and we do not find that the sentence of life imprisonment awarded to the appellant is disproportionate to the offence committed by him, particularly when Section 302 RPC provides punishment of either death penalty or imprisonment for life”.
“We also find that the trial court has rightly convicted the appellant for the commission of offence under Section 201 RPC particularly when there was direct evidence regarding killing of the deceased by the appellant by gun and subsequently running away of the appellant from the place of occurrence with gun”, the DB said, adding “we do not find any illegality or infirmity in the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 31.12.2021 passed by the trial court”.
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