Abdul Iqbal KC Appears in Significant UK Supreme Court Appeal

Judgment Provides Important Guidance on Jury Directions and Statutory Interpretation

Abdul Iqbal KC recently appeared as leading counsel for a Respondent in the appeal of R v Sheikh & Others at the United Kingdom Supreme Court (“UKSC”).

The appeal to the UKSC was from the ruling of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division concerning the statutory construction of section 5(1)(d)(iii) of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, which governs the offence of causing or allowing a vulnerable adult to die or suffer serious physical harm.

The Court of Appeal judgment can be found here.

The UK Supreme Court (Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Burrows, Lady Rose and Lady Simler) heard oral submissions on Thursday 25 June 2026. A recording of the hearing is available here.

Judgment was handed down by the UKSC on 27 July 2026.

The judgment clarifies the approach of the courts and the directions given to juries in Crown Court trials as to the meaning of a statutory ingredient of the offence, namely that the act causing death or serious physical harm “occurred in circumstances of the kind that D foresaw or ought to have foreseen”.

The UK Supreme Court judgment can be read here.

Abdul Iqbal KC practises principally in serious crime (including homicide, terrorism and serious fraud) and regulatory law (professional discipline and sports law).