SC acquits death sentence convict after 21 years due to lack of evidence
Pakistan
Additional Judge of Wazirabad sentenced the accused, Imran, to death in 2004.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Supreme Court's Sharia Appellate Bench heard an appeal regarding a death sentence for double murder and fornication.
After 21 years, the Supreme Court's Sharia Appellate Bench acquitted the convict due to lack of evidence and benefit of the doubt.
In 2004, Additional Judge of Wazirabad sentenced the accused, Imran, to death and seven years in prison. The Federal Shariah Court upheld these sentences in 2012.
Imran, also known as Mani, filed an appeal against the Federal Shariah Court’s decision in the Supreme Court in 2012.
The Supreme Court's Sharia Appellate Bench accepted the appeal for hearing six years later, in 2018.
Sharia Appellate Bench under Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, revisited the case and accepted the appeal.
Chief Justice Isa criticized the police for inadequate investigations and questioned why evidence was not gathered.
Expressing frustration he said that courts are expected to pass death sentences when police fail to do their job properly.
