Five people who were awarded death penalty by military court have filed appeal against their conviction in the Supreme Court (SC) following the rejection of their appeal plea by high court.
The SC has been prayed to suspend operationalisation of capital punishment verdict through the appeal plea filed by Laeeq Swati advocate.
The military court had awarded death penalty through court martial proceedings. The death convicts have taken the plea that they are not army personnel and they are civilians. Therefore, military court can not initiate proceedings against them.
It was further said in the appeal plea that Lahore High Court (LHC) had accepted their plea and stayed execution of death penalty but on the next day, the stay was vacated by the court on the appeal filed by government and death penalty was restored.
Military court cannot conduct proceedings against the civilian, appeal added. The issuance of stay order by LHC was correct while the appeal plea filed by government was incorrect. But LHC accepted it.
The court has not only been prayed to stay implementation of death penalties but it has also been said that SC can hear appeal pleas filed against the sentence awarded by military courts.