SC overturns death sentence to life imprisonment after 28 years

The three-member bench overturned the verdict due to lack of evidence

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned death sentence of a petitioner after 28 years on grounds of insufficient evidence.

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, overturned the death sentence to life imprisonment.

The accused, Muhammad Riaz, was charged with murder of a woman in Attock. The FIR of the case was registered in 1998.



Lahore High Court had then given the accused, Muhammad Riaz, a death sentence.

Justice Khosa, however in the hearing on Thursday, stated that details of the case suggest the issue was something else.

"There is a clear discrepancy between medical reports and FIR," Siddique Baloch, counsel for the petitioner stated.

He further added that the FIR mentions there were two shots fired but the medical report declares there was one.



Sidique mentioned that the accused's divorced wife was present during the murder but refused to give testimony in the court leading to insufficient evidence. Hence, the court overturned the verdict from death sentence to life imprisonment which amasses minimum 25 years prison time.