Karachi (Web Desk): The Sindh High Court (SHC) has raised concerns about the conduct of the presiding judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) I, suggesting that the judge’s administrative powers be revoked.
The SHC’s two-member bench, led by Justice Zafar Rajput, issued a detailed ruling regarding the matter.
This follows a dispute over the handling of Armaghan, the main suspect in the Mustafa Amir murder case.
The issue arose when the judge rejected the police's request to grant the suspect a physical remand, and further complications emerged after allegations of tampering with court records.
According to the acting prosecutor general, the decision to strip the judge of his administrative powers was influenced by concerns that the judge had manipulated the remand order.
The prosecution had filed multiple petitions against the judge, challenging the decision to deny the police’s request for remanding Armaghan into custody.
The controversy began after the ATC registrar submitted the case file to the SHC, with the investigating officer informing the court that although the suspect had initially been granted police remand, he was later transferred to jail custody at 7pm, and the original order had been altered.
Upon reviewing the matter, Justice Zafar Rajput pointed out that the judge had struck out the original remand order and substituted it with a jail custody order.
The SHC then ordered that Armaghan be brought before the ATC once more, and the court subsequently granted a four-day remand to the police for further questioning.
The case revolves around the abduction and killing of Mustafa Amir, a BBA student who vanished on January 6.
Armaghan, along with another suspect named Sheraz alias Shavez, was arrested on February 8 during a raid at Armaghan's residence in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority.
Despite the police's request for physical remand of both suspects, the ATC I initially rejected the request for Armaghan and only granted remand for Sheraz. This led the police to appeal to the SHC, which ordered the case to be taken up by ATC II.
Meanwhile, Mustafa’s body had been discovered days after his disappearance, found in a burnt car near the Hub checkpost.
The authorities later confirmed that the charred remains belonged to Mustafa, and after a court order, the body was exhumed for forensic analysis.
The findings confirmed the identity of the remains as Mustafa’s. Both suspects have confessed to their involvement in the crime, admitting that they were responsible for murdering the young man and disposing of his body in the location where the remains were found.