IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Mushir Alam 
Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
Criminal Petition No.79-K of 2019 
(Against order dated 21.3.2019 of the High 
Court of Sindh, Karachi passed in Cr. 
Accountability Appeal No.14/2013) 
 
 
Sheikh Iqbal Azam Farooqui through his legal heirs 
  
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
 
The State through Chairman NAB 
…Respondent(s) 
 
 
 
For the Petitioner(s): 
Mr. Amir Raza Naqvi, ASC 
Mr. Ghulam Rasool Mangi, AOR 
  
  
For the State 
Mr. Sattar Awan, Special Prosecutor 
  
 
 
Date of hearing: 
2.1.2020. 
 
JUDGMENT  
 
 
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.  Sheikh Iqbal Azam 
Farooqui, since demised, was tried by an Accountability Court at 
Karachi; he was arrayed in the reference alongside Javed Iqbal 
Farooqui, Iftikhar A. Shaikh and Shaikh Mansoor Ahmed, away from 
law till date, proceeded accordingly; held guilty under Section 
9(a)(viii) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, he was 
sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for seven years with a 
direction to pay Rs.5.187 million as fine, to be recovered as arrears 
of land revenue; upon his death, a learned Division Bench of High 
Court of Sindh, disposed of his appeal as having been abated, while 
keeping amount of fine intact to be realized from his estate vide 
impugned order dated 21.3.2019, vires whereof are being disputed 
herein. 
2.  
Learned counsel for the legal heirs of the deceased convict 
contends that notwithstanding death of the convict, his appeal, 
admitted to regular hearing during his life time, merited full dress 
Criminal Petition No.214 of 2018 
 
2
regular adjudication as not only his name required vindication but 
also for the additional reason that his estate, devolving upon the 
legal heirs, was burdened with impugned conviction. While referring 
to the provisions of Section 431 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 
1898, law declared by this Court in the cases of Dr. Ghulam 
Hussain (represented by 8 heirs) vs. The State (1971 SCMR 35) 
and 
Muhammad 
Shamoon 
(deceased) 
through 
legal 
representatives vs. The State and another (2019 SCMR 1144) 
has been referred to argue that there was no occasion for the learned 
High Court to short circuit the pending proceedings with fiscal 
consequences of the conviction still impinging upon the estate. The 
learned Law Officer has contested the motion. 
3.   
Heard. Record perused. 
4.  
Corporal consequences of a conviction wither away with the 
death of the convict, therefore appeal filed by the convict would 
automatically abate, as the death severs all temporal links with his 
corpus. However, financial liability, consequent upon conviction and 
shifted upon the estate, would certainly require the appellate court 
to decide the appeal on its own merit as in the event of its failure, 
the liability is to be exacted from the assets devolving upon the legal 
heirs. A plain reading of Section 431 of the Code ibid confirms the 
above contemplation of law. Criminal petition is converted into 
appeal; allowed. The impugned order is set aside. Appeal filed by the 
deceased, being sustained by his legal heirs, shall be deemed as 
pending before the High Court for adjudication on merits. 
  
 
Judge 
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
 
 
Judge 
Karachi, the  
2nd January, 2020 
Not approved for reporting 
Ghulam Raza/- 
