Man sentenced to life in prison in desecration case

A sessions court on Thursday sentenced a man to life imprisonment in a three-year-old case pertaining to the desecration of the Holy Quran.

Additional Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon found the accused guilty of committing an offence punishable under Section 295-B (defiling of the holy Quran) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

He observed that all eyewitnesses remained on the same page by deposing that on June 4, 2021, the accused had torn out pages of the holy Quran and set them on fire. He added that all the prime witnesses fully supported the prosecution case with respect to the time and date of the occurrence and arrest of the accused as well as seizure of the case property.

"In view of the above stated position, circumstances and detailed discussion, the net result thereof is that the prosecution has brought much confidence inspiring oral as well as documentary evidence against the accused and the learned defense counsel has failed to point out any single shadow of doubt in the case of prosecution. Therefore, the prosecution has successfully proved its case against the accused beyond any shadow of doubt," ruled the judge. The convict, who is incarcerated in the District Jail Malir, was in attendance via video link when the judge announced the order.

He was given the benefit of Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), meaning the time spent in detention since his arrest would be counted towards his jail term.

According to state prosecutor Syed Khursheed Abbas, on June 4, 2021, the complainant was returning home after offering Fajr prayers at around 6:30am when he saw the accused disposing of the torn and burnt pages of the holy Quran in Korangi's Zia Colony.

The prosecutor contended that the prosecution placed on record cogent and coherent oral as well as documentary evidence by producing eight witnesses against the accused, requesting the judge to convict him as per the law.

In his statement recorded under Section 342 of the CrPC, the accused denied the charges and showed his unawareness about the incident.

However, the defence counsel contended that his client had been booked in a false case and that there were contradictions in statements of prosecution witnesses being residents of the same area. He argued that the accused being a Muslim never thought of committing such heinous offence. An FIR was lodged at the Korangi police station under Section 295-B of the PPC.