In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the plea for acquittal filed by an acid attack convict, saying he deserves no mercy despite the claim that his victim has forgiven him for the crime. "Acid attack offenders do not deserve any clemency," Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa declared while hearing an application filed by convict Javed Iqbal, who approached the apex court with an appeal against the sentence he was awarded for throwing acid on a woman.

The lawyer for the petitioner informed the apex court that the woman victim of the acid attack had "forgiven" his client. But Justice Khosa said that there could be no compromise in a case concerning an acid attack. "The affected woman may forgive [the convict], but the law cannot forgive an acid attack suspect," the top judge added.

He clarified that the law regarding acid attacks was "extremely strict", saying: "Burning someone with acid is a bigger crime than murder." Justice Khosa said the petitioner had committed "extreme cruelty" by attacking the woman with acid. He said the punishment for throwing acid is life imprisonment and that it is a "crime against the state".

"It is possible that the affected woman was threatened into going to the Supreme Court to give a statement [of forgiving the convict]," the Chief Justice observed. "The law cannot forgive anyone who burns someone's face with acid," he concluded, rejecting the convict's plea for acquittal.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019