SC acquits convicted murderer

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday, while hearing an appeal of an accused convicted in a murder case, observed that accused are released on false evidence, but in response, courts faced criticism.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, while hearing an appeal of one Malik Majid Nazeer, acquitted him after annulling the verdict, passed by the Lahore High Court, which had commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. The court acquitted the accused in lieu of insufficient evidence produced by the prosecution.

During the course of hearing, Justice Khosa remarked that accused were released on false evidence but in response, courts were criticised.“Everyone in the locality knows as to who committed a murder, but no one is ready to give true testimony,” Justice Khosa remarked, adding that those criticise courts, don’t think that the accused was real [murderer],  but the testimony was false.

 As per prosecution, Malik Majid Nazir, a resident of Faisalabad, had killed Ahsanul Haq over a clash about teasing of his female relatives in 2004.Sikandar Hayat Mian advocate, representing the accused, contended that postmortem was carried out after one day of the registration of the FIR. He said according to the police his client had fired on the deceased, who was standing in the balcony of his house, from ground. He argued the medical report said that Ahsan sustained two straight gun fires.

A sessions court had awarded death sentence to Malik Majid Nazeer. Later, the accused filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court challenging his death sentence.The Lahore High Court, however, commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment upon which the accused filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the verdict of the Lahore High Court.On Friday, the apex court, however, acquitted Malik Majid Nazeer in the wake of insufficient evidence, produced by the prosecution.