SC action against false witnesses: Liars to be barred forever

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Asif Saeed Khosa observed on Friday that forty years ago, the Lahore High Court (LHC) gave free rein to false witnesses and through a court order, the people were given licence to lie.

“God willing, the era of quickly dismissing false statements will return,” he maintained. He said that law would be implemented in letter and spirit.

He said that a liar would not be able to stand witness in any case in future and if a part of statement is based on perjury, the whole statement would be dismissed. He said that the people lie as a habit.

The Supreme Court rejected a man’s appeal against his conviction in the 2004 murder of two people in Mandrah, Rawalpindi district.

During the hearing on Friday, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said, “No law in the world accepts false statements.”

The top judge observed that in this case, the witnesses did not tell the truth. The suspect is accused of going to someone’s house with a rishta (marriage proposal) and killed two people and injured four others, he said.

“You would not murder the person you are going to propose to,” remarked Justice Khosa. Before assuming CJP, Justice Khosa had repeatedly said that all judges who handed sentences on false testimonies would be held accountable.

“False witnesses will soon be behind the bars and the entire system will be back on the right track as soon as a couple of perjurers are sentenced to life in prison,” he had said while hinting at reforms in the criminal justice system.