SC declines Pervez Musharraf’s petition, says he must surrender first

• The apex court's registrar's office declined to accept the petition saying that a person convicted under Article 6 of the Constitution needs to surrender first in order to file a plea.
• A special court handed the former military death penalty in the high treason case last year in December.

The Supreme Court (SC) has returned a petition filed by former president Pervez Musharraf against a special court's verdict in handing him death sentence under Article 6 of the Constitution in the treason case.

The former military leader had filed a petition in the SC on January 16. In his petition, Musharraf also requested the SC to declare the death sentence awarded to him null and void. However, the apex court's registrar's office declined to accept the petition saying that a person convicted under Article 6 of the Constitution needs to surrender first in order to file a plea, local media reported.

Musharraf filed an appeal in the SC despite the Lahore High Court's (LHC) verdict that Musharraf's trial in high treason case and formation of special court was illegal and unconstitutional.

The high court observed that a proper course of law was not followed while carrying out legal proceedings against the former president. The court in its verdict said that the Article 6 could not be enforced from past.

A special court handed the former military death penalty in the high treason case last year in December.