SC acquits murder suspect on ‘benefit of doubt’

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday acquitted a man who was awarded capital punishment for allegedly murdering a citizen in Rawalpindi back in 2011.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa overturned the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict that had upheld the death sentence handed to Muhammad Zaman.

It exonerated the accused from murder charges on the benefit of doubt.

Zaman along with two other suspects, Muhammad Azad and Muhammad Shehzad were handed death penalty for murdering a citizen and injuring his son in a Rawalpindi neighbourhood in 2011.

However, the high court acquitted Shehzad while upheld the conviction of the two other accused. Subsequently, they approached the apex court requesting it to set aside their conviction.

It is important to mention here that accused Muhammad Azad had died inside prison.

Earlier, on Feb 13, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa upheld death sentence awarded to the killer of five people in Peshawar.

The court heard a plea of the man, convicted for killing a woman and four children in Peshawar, seeking his acquittal or commuting death sentence into life term.

The bench turned down the plea of murder convict Faisal.

Chief Justice Khosa remarked that the woman and four children were murdered to steal gold ornaments.

The children were killed only to avoid them to become witnesses, the top judge remarked. The house was set on fire to hide the murder crime.