SHC sets aside life imprisonment of man in murder case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has set aside the life imprisonment of a man in a murder case.

Rafiq Ali was sentenced to life imprisonment for committing the murder of Hazoor Bux along with co-accused in the Malir area.

According to the prosecution, the appellant along with co-accused Nisar Ahmed and Nizamuddin had killed Bux due to enmity.

A counsel for the appellant submitted that he was innocent and had been involved in the case falsely by the complainant party in order to satisfy its matrimonial dispute with him.

He submitted that it was an unseen incident and on the basis of the same evidence, the two co-accused had already been acquitted and the appellant was convicted by the trial court without lawful justification.

A deputy prosecutor general supported the impugned judgment and sought dismissal of the instant appeal by contending that the case of the appellant was distinguishable to that of the acquitted accused and the prosecution had been able to prove its case against him beyond any shadow of doubt.

A single bench of the high court headed by Justice Irshad Ali Shah after hearing the arguments and perusal of the evidence observed that the FIR of the incident had been lodged with a delay of about three days and such a delay having not been explained plausibly could not

be overlooked, as it reflected consultation and deliberation.

The high court observed that failure of the appellant to attend the funeral ceremony of the deceased could not be taken as a conclusive proof of his guilt.

The high court observed that it was the prosecution that had to prove its case against the accused, and it could be concluded safely that the prosecution

had not been able to prove the involvement of the appellant in the instant case beyond any shadow of doubt.

The SHC set aside the trial court order and ordered the release of the appellant if he was not required in other cases.