Two death-row convicts acquitted after 11 years

ISLAMABAD – Accepting the appeals of two life imprisonment accused the Supreme Court on Friday acquitted them after 11 years.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, and comprised Justice Dost Muhammad and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel heard the appeals of two murderers.

Muhammad Shahbaz was acquitted after 11 years. The trial court had awarded Shahbaz death sentence, but the high court had converted it into life imprisonment.

Muhammad Shahbaz was accused of killing Gohar Abbas in Faisalabad in August, 2005. The trial court therefore had awarded him death sentence.

Justice Khosa observed that the prosecution story is unbelievable, adding the prosecution has failed to establish his case. The evidence presented in the case is insufficient.

Justice Khosa said there is contradiction between FIR and medical report. He remarked the trial court did not examine the evidence and just passed the judgment.

The same bench, hearing the appeal of Nawab Ali from Ghotki inquired from his counsel whether the judges in Sindh are appointed on contract as without examining the facts of the case they have decided the matter.

The accused counsel Abdul Wahab told that in Sindh the judges in the lower courts are inducted from the Banking Courts. He said the judges don’t have experience of criminal trial, adding the practicing counsels in the province are not appointed as judges in lower judiciary therefore litigants are facing lot of problems.

Justice Khosa noted that the high court announced the reserved judgment after 10 months. He said before hearing the apex court judges study the cases therefore they had decided three cases of the death sentence in 20 minutes.

Justice Khosa said in Nawab’s case neither any witness appeared nor there was any circumstance of murder, but the court awarded death sentence to the accused. The lower court should show the sense of responsibility, as the judges would have to be answerable.

The apex court on the basis of insufficient evidence acquitted accused Nawab Ali from Ghotki. He had killed an man in 2001 but was arrested in 2006.

Source: The Nation