CJ dismisses appeal against acquittal

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on Friday dismissed an appeal against the acquittal of two people in a murder case with an observation that the concocted story narrated by the complainant in the FIR had ultimately helped the suspects.

A trial court had handed down the death sentence to Muhammad Ikram and Ghulam Abbas on charges of killing Manzoor and Noor Hassan. However, the Lahore High Court in 2009 allowed the appeals of the convicts and acquitted them of the charges giving them the benefit of the doubt. Representing the complainants, a counsel argued before a three-judge bench of the SC that the high court had ignored facts of the case while acquitting the convicts. He asked the bench to set aside the decision and restore the conviction handed down by the trial court. 

However, the chief justice observed that the prosecution had failed to produce any direct and cogent evidence against the suspects. He said it had been a decade since the acquittal of the suspects. CJP Khosa observed that complainants usually distorted facts at the time of registration of FIR, which helped the suspects. “When the truth is concealed, it helps criminals,” the chief justice observed and dismissed the appeal against the acquittal.