LHC sets limits for conviction in desecration cases

Sets aside conviction and life sentence of mentally unstable person

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the recovery of a burnt copy of the Holy Quran cannot, by itself, establish an accused's guilt under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), stressing that the prosecution must prove the act was wilful and deliberate.

Acquitting a man sentenced to life imprisonment, the court held that evidence of long-standing mental illness could not be brushed aside merely because no formal application had been filed under Section 464 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, while reiterating that even a single reasonable doubt entitles an accused to acquittal as a matter of right.

Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa of the Rawalpindi bench passed these observations while allowing the criminal appeal of Shahid-ur-Rehman, whose conviction and life sentence in a case registered at Sarai Alamgir police station in Gujrat district were set aside.

The court observed that the prosecution had failed to establish conclusively that the appellant had set fire to the copy of the Holy Quran. The complainant and another key prosecution witness admitted during cross-examination that they had not seen him lighting the fire.