LHC acquits man sentenced to life in murder case

Judge finds prosecution evidence insufficient to sustain conviction

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court also dismissed the complainant's plea seeking enhancement of the sentence from life imprisonment to death.

Justice Farooq Haider allowed the criminal appeal filed by Muhammad Asif against his conviction, according to the written judgment.

Asif was accused of shooting and killing Tayyab Raza.

A murder case was registered against him at Shorkot Cantt police station in Jhang district on July 14, 2015.

On March 10, 2021, an additional sessions judge in Shorkot convicted Asif and sentenced him to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs100,000.

The complainant subsequently approached the high court, seeking enhancement of the sentence to death.

In its judgment, the LHC identified several weaknesses in the prosecution's case, including a delay in registering the first information report (FIR), which raised doubts about the prosecution's account.

The court also found that the eyewitnesses had failed to provide a satisfactory and legally acceptable explanation for their presence at the crime scene.

It noted that Asif had not been named in the initial FIR and was nominated later.

The judgment observed that medical evidence could establish the nature of the injuries but could not, by itself, identify the assailant.

The evidence relating to the identification of a motorcycle and police records was also found insufficient.

The court further noted that the pistol casings had been sent to the forensic agency after the accused's arrest.

It also held that evidence not put to the accused during the trial could not be used against him to sustain a conviction.

Concluding that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge beyond reasonable doubt, the LHC accepted Asif's appeal and acquitted him.

It also dismissed the complainant's plea for enhancement of the sentence.

Sentencing law

In another case, the LHC has suggested an amendment to the Punjab Sentencing Act, 2019, to bring murder cases involving imprisonment for life within its scope, so that courts can exercise structured judicial discretion while determining sentences in light of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq, while converting the conviction of a man from Section 302(b) to 302(c) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in a murder case arising from a sudden confrontation between rival groups of boys, observed that the existing law excludes offences carrying the death penalty from its ambit, even where alternative punishments include a fixed term or life imprisonment.

The court recommended that the act be amended to incorporate offences punishable with life imprisonment and empower judges to adjust the minimum period in appropriate cases.

It also suggested that the Sentencing Council envisaged under the law be tasked with framing comprehensive guidelines and a formal sentencing hearing be made mandatory.

Allowing an appeal in part, the court reduced the prison sentence of Mehar Farhan to the period already undergone by him, after finding that the fatal hockey-stick blow had been inflicted during a sudden confrontation without sufficient evidence of premeditation or an intention to kill.

The court, however, maintained the compensation of Rs500,000 payable to the deceased's heirs, along with the consequences of default and the benefit already granted under Section 382-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure.