The courts need to set a precedent and punish those who are guilty of accusing others falsely.
LAHORE: This is with reference to the news item that a local cleric, who accused Rimsha Masih falsely of blasphemy, has been allowed to go scot-free due to lack of evidence. It clearly shows the anomalies in our legal system, which specifies the death penalty for a person accused of blasphemy but does not provide any substantial punishment for those who falsely accuse a person of blasphemy. The local cleric should have been prosecuted for two crimes separately.
The first one is obviously his false accusation against Rimsha, the second, and more important one, is that he may have possibly been involved in the desecration of the Holy Quran and for that he should have been tried under Section 295-C. So, while the minorities accused of desecration continue to languish in jails while their cases are heard in lower courts, this cleric was on bail and enjoying a normal life.
The courts need to set a precedent and punish those who are guilty of accusing others falsely, especially in blasphemy cases, because only that will make the abuse of this sensitive law subside.
Omer Butt
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2013.
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