SC acquits accused on benefit of doubt
The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday acquitted a life sentence of a convict giving him the benefit of doubt. The trial court awarded capital punishment to accused Tanveer over murder of his brother Asif and sister-in law Shumaila Bibi in Chakwal area in 2011. The high court commuted the death sentence into life imprisonment. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik and comprised Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Mazahar Alam Khan Miankhel, heard the case. During the course of proceedings, state counsel Abid Majeed said no one was following Shumaila Bibi’s murder case. According to the first information report, there was an illicit relationship between the accused’s sister-in-law and Asif Mahmood, he added. He said Shumaila Bibi’s husband was abroad. The apex court acquitted the accused giving him the benefit of doubt.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2020.