<p>The Sharjah Appeal Court accepted the appeal after the victim Misri Nazir Khan's blood relatives dropped their request for capital punishment, Consulate General of India in Dubai confirmed.<br /><br />It also acknowledged the role of local businessman and Indian Punjabi Society founder president S P Singh Oberoi for his "extraordinary selflessness in spearheading the community initiative to resolve this case".<br /><br />"After about 18 months and in its seventeenth hearing the case has seen a closure. Today the Honourable Judge Abdullah al-Shamsi of the Sharjah Court of Appeals ruled that the accused be deported after a 2-year sentence.<br /><br />Since the 17 have already been imprisoned for over 2 years now, their release appears imminent.<br /><br />The Consulate is processing their travel documents and will arrange for their air tickets to India.<br /><br />The exact date of release and deportation will also depend on some procedural clearances by the UAE government,” the consulate statement said.<br /><br />Lawyers handling the case said the 17 men, 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana, got the lease of life due to an out-of-court blood money settlement amounting to Rs 4.36 crore (3.4 million dirhams).<br /><br />Mohammad Ramzan, a representative of the victim's family received the blood money (Diyyah) in court and signed a pardon for the suspects. <br /><br />On March 28, 2010 the Sharjah Court of First Instance had pronounced the death sentence on the 17 Indian nationals, who were accused of killing a Pakistani national in January 2009.<br /><br />According to the Consulate, given the extraordinary nature of this case the Government of India decided to appeal the verdict and defend the accused.<br /><br />"During the appeals process, the Honourable Sharjah Court of Appeals suggested that both sides consider a mutually agreeable understanding for an early resolution of the case.<br /><br />Such an understanding was also desired by the accused.<br /><br />Guided by the same opinion, some members of the Indian community, led Oberoi, independently contacted, pursued and reached a compromise with the family of the deceased," it added.<br /><br />Advocate Bindu S Chettur, a member of the legal firm defending the Indians said, "As part of the procedures, the court can ask for a settlement and it is at the discretion of the parties on whether to agree to a settlement or not.<br /><br />As per this procedure, the Indian community members led by S P Singh Oberoi, who were already negotiating for a settlement, proposed to pay the blood money. The settlement did not come through the intervention of the lawyers or the Consulate," she was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.<br /></p>
<p>The Sharjah Appeal Court accepted the appeal after the victim Misri Nazir Khan's blood relatives dropped their request for capital punishment, Consulate General of India in Dubai confirmed.<br /><br />It also acknowledged the role of local businessman and Indian Punjabi Society founder president S P Singh Oberoi for his "extraordinary selflessness in spearheading the community initiative to resolve this case".<br /><br />"After about 18 months and in its seventeenth hearing the case has seen a closure. Today the Honourable Judge Abdullah al-Shamsi of the Sharjah Court of Appeals ruled that the accused be deported after a 2-year sentence.<br /><br />Since the 17 have already been imprisoned for over 2 years now, their release appears imminent.<br /><br />The Consulate is processing their travel documents and will arrange for their air tickets to India.<br /><br />The exact date of release and deportation will also depend on some procedural clearances by the UAE government,” the consulate statement said.<br /><br />Lawyers handling the case said the 17 men, 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana, got the lease of life due to an out-of-court blood money settlement amounting to Rs 4.36 crore (3.4 million dirhams).<br /><br />Mohammad Ramzan, a representative of the victim's family received the blood money (Diyyah) in court and signed a pardon for the suspects. <br /><br />On March 28, 2010 the Sharjah Court of First Instance had pronounced the death sentence on the 17 Indian nationals, who were accused of killing a Pakistani national in January 2009.<br /><br />According to the Consulate, given the extraordinary nature of this case the Government of India decided to appeal the verdict and defend the accused.<br /><br />"During the appeals process, the Honourable Sharjah Court of Appeals suggested that both sides consider a mutually agreeable understanding for an early resolution of the case.<br /><br />Such an understanding was also desired by the accused.<br /><br />Guided by the same opinion, some members of the Indian community, led Oberoi, independently contacted, pursued and reached a compromise with the family of the deceased," it added.<br /><br />Advocate Bindu S Chettur, a member of the legal firm defending the Indians said, "As part of the procedures, the court can ask for a settlement and it is at the discretion of the parties on whether to agree to a settlement or not.<br /><br />As per this procedure, the Indian community members led by S P Singh Oberoi, who were already negotiating for a settlement, proposed to pay the blood money. The settlement did not come through the intervention of the lawyers or the Consulate," she was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.<br /></p>