LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) – The Lahore High Court has acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment in a rape case, ruling that a case registered under rape charges cannot later be converted into another sexual offence if the prosecution fails to prove the original charge.
Justice Amjad Rafiq issued a 14-page verdict while allowing the appeal of accused Ghulam Fareed and laid down new legal principles regarding rape and consensual sexual relations cases.
The court ruled that if rape charges are included in an FIR, punishment can only be awarded under those provisions if the offence is proven. It is legally not permissible to maintain a conviction by converting a rape case into an offence of unlawful sexual relations after failure to establish rape.
Justice Amjad Rafiq observed that rape and unlawful sexual relations are separate offences with different legal requirements, investigation procedures and evidentiary standards. Therefore, a rape case cannot subsequently be transformed into another sexual offence.
The court also clarified that a DNA report alone cannot be the sole basis for conviction, as forensic evidence is supporting evidence and must be accompanied by strong and reliable proof.
According to the verdict, a case was registered against Ghulam Fareed in 2010 in Muzaffargarh district under rape provisions, while the trial court sentenced him to 25 years in prison in 2021. The accused’s lawyer argued that both individuals had entered into marriage with mutual consent, therefore the rape allegation was incorrect.
The prosecution argued that the family court had already declared the marriage invalid. However, Justice Rafiq observed that even if a marriage is declared void, it does not automatically mean that every sexual relationship amounts to rape. The court said it must determine, based on available evidence, whether the relationship was consensual or not.
The court rejected the prosecution’s request to maintain punishment on the basis of another sexual offence, stating that the case was registered only under rape provisions and could not be converted into a different offence.
The verdict highlighted several weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, including delay in registration of the FIR, contradictions in the complainant’s statements, absence of rape allegations in the statement recorded under Section 164, changes in the stance later, lack of confirmation of rape in the medical report and absence of marks of resistance or physical violence.
The court also noted that a co-accused in the same case had already been acquitted and that the conviction of another accused could not be sustained on identical evidence.
Reiterating the principle of criminal justice, the court stated that even a single reasonable doubt is sufficient for acquittal and that it is better for a hundred guilty persons to go free than for one innocent person to be punished.
The Lahore High Court set aside the trial court’s sentence and ordered the immediate release of Ghulam Fareed.