SHC sets aside conviction of man in rape and murder case

The Sindh High Court has set aside the conviction of a man in rape and murder case, observing the prosecution failed to prove charges.

Tahir was sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court for murdering Azeem Khan after raping him in Orangi Town.

According to the prosecution, the appellant along with co-accused Hafiz Talha and Sajawal Khan kidnapped Azeem, subjected him to rape, killed him by strangulation and threw his body into a drain. The appellant’s counsel submitted that the trial court misread the evidence and acquitted co-accused Hafiz Talha and Sajawal Khan on the same evidence, while it convicted the appellant. He sought acquittal of the appellant as the prosecution failed to establish charges against him.

The additional prosecutor general supported the trial court order and submitted that the case of the appellant was distinguishable from that of acquitted co-accused Hafiz Talha and Sajawal Khan.

A single bench. headed by Justice Irshad Ali Shah, after hearing the arguments of the counsel, observed that none had actually seen the appellant committing the alleged incident.

The court observed that there was inconsistency in statements of prosecution witnesses with regard to the recovery of the body. The court observed that medical evidence for proving rape was not found proper to be acceptable as evidence and surprisingly on the basis of the same evidence co-accused Hafiz Talha and Sajawal Khan had been acquitted, while the appellant had been convicted by the trial court.

The high court observed that the prosecution had not been able to prove its case against the appellant beyond any shadow of doubt and to such benefit he too was found entitled. The court set aside the conviction and sentence awarded to the appellant by way of the impugned judgment and ordered releasing him if not required in other cases.