SC acquits three death sentence convicts

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday acquitted three death sentence convicts after 14 years giving them benefit of doubt in the murder case of eight persons outside the District Courts, Kharian.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, who headed the three-member bench which heard the case, observed that with the dismissal of that case no criminal case was pending at the SC's principle seat in Islamabad.

The SC bench comprised Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Yahya Afridi. During the course of proceedings, the CJP said the murder of eight persons was a sad incident. Some 30 accused were nominated in the first information report (FIR) and it was not possible for the courts to punish anyone on the basis of nomination in the case.

He observed that dispensation of justice was based on truth as no one could be awarded death sentence on the basis of false testimony. One thing was clear in the case that the witnesses had nothing to do with truth as they had recorded their statements according to their wishes, he added. He remarked that some persons were convicted on the basis of false testimony. The court acquitted the three accused while dismissing acquittal appeals of the two accused in the case.