17 Indians in Sharjah death row to walk free soon

17 men got lease of life due to an out-of-court blood money settlement: Lawyers.

Seventeen Indians who were sentenced to death for murdering a Pakistani man in a bootlegging case in Sharjah last year will walk free after an appeal court dropped their punishment on Monday,after over Rs 4 crore was paid as blood money to the victim’s family. 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.

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”.

“After about 18 months and in its seventeenth hearing the case has seen a closure. on Monday the Honourable Judge Abdullah al-Shamsi of the Sharjah Court of Appeals ruled that the accused be deported after a 2-year sentence. Since the 17 have already been imprisoned for over 2 years now,their release appears imminent.

Story continues below this ad

The Consulate is processing their travel documents and will arrange for their air tickets to India. The exact date of release and deportation will also depend on some procedural clearances by the UAE government,the consulate statement said.

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).

Mohammad Ramzan,a representative of the victim’s family received the blood money (Diyyah) in court and signed a pardon for the suspects.

SC on Waqf Act: Stay on clause that creator has to be practising Islam for 5 yrs

India40 min ago

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, provision requiring registration of Waqf by user, but paused the clause that states a person must be a practitioner of Islam for five years to create a Waqf until state governments frame relevant rules.

View all shorts

Live Blog