KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment in a murder case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Ameeruddin, who is also presiding officer of the Model Criminal Trial Court (West), found Sohail Talib guilty of the offence and pronounced sentences on three counts.

The accused appeared in the court on bail.

The court awarded him life imprisonment, which is 25 years, for committing the murder of Abdullah and 10 years each for an attempt to murder Tahir Faisal and his sister, Asma, over a tenancy dispute.

The court noted that all the sentences would run concurrently, with the longest being 25 years.

`Accused Sohail Talib is not eligible for the capital punishment of death. Given the charges of gatl-iamd, attempt to commit gatl-i-amd, and common intention, a sentenceof life imprisonment is a more appropriate and just punishment...

the expectancy of life principle allows courts to consider the time a convict has spent on death row as a mitigating factor when deciding whether to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment,` the court noted.

The court also directed the accused to pay Rs300,000 to the legal heirs of the deceased person and on default, he would have to serve additional imprisonment.

However, it acquitted the coaccused, Haroonur Rasheed, as the prosecution failed to establish charges against him.

The case was remanded for a fresh trial in 2021 to the Model Criminal Trial Court by the Sindh High Court after it identified defects in the proceedings. Earlier, another trial court had twice convicted Sohail, sentencing him to death, while Haroon was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 and 2019.According to state prosecutor Muhammad Tahir Khan, complainant Faisal informed the police that in 2013, while residing as a tenant in a house in Metroville, SITE, for two years, he had a dispute with house owner Sohail over water supply.

He stated that a month before the incident, the owner had taken money from him but failed to provide water. They had an altercation over the issue. Later, the owner forcibly asked them to vacate the house.

After the complainant obtained a temporary stay, the owner, Sohail, along with Haroon, came to the house on the fateful day. Sohail opened fire and multiple gunshots struck Abdullah, the complainant`s nephew, who later succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, the complainant and his sister also sustained firearm injuries.

A case was registered at SITE-A police station in 2013, under Sections 302, and 324 read with 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.