Supreme Court Acquits Life Sentence Accused Giving Benefit Of Doubt

Supreme Court (SC) Monday suspended the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict and acquitted a life sentence accused Zaffar Iqbal giving him benefit of doubt

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Sep, 2019 ) :Supreme Court (SC) Monday suspended the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict and acquitted a life sentence accused Zaffar Iqbal giving him benefit of doubt.

The trial court awarded capital punishment to Zaffar Iqbal over murder of Maqbool Ahmad in district Kasur in 2005. The LHC converted the death sentence into life imprisonment.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and comprised Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel heard the case through video link from SC Lahore Registry.

During the course of proceedings, the chief justice said as per high court's observation, both the parties had constructed story themselves.

He said in fact, the victim was killed due to his character.

The chief justice said the witnesses had recorded false statements after taking oath in the name of Allah Almighty.

The same bench hearing another case dismissed acquittal appeals of three murder accused.

The court maintained death sentence of Muhammad Akbar and Asghar while life imprisonment was maintained for Muhammad Afzal.

The accused killed two and injured one over a cricket match dispute in Kahrorpaka in 2007. The trial court awarded capital punishment to all three accused while the LHC converted the death penalty of Afzal into life imprisonment.