LHC acquits murder convict after 7 years

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday acquitted a condemned prisoner in a murder case after seven years in prison.

The bench, comprising Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, passed the orders while allowing an appeal filed by the convict, Muhammad Dilawar, against the death sentence by trial court in the case.

The defence counsel argued before the court that the trial court had failed to properly assess the facts and handed down the death sentence to his client despite clear inconsistencies in the statements of the witnesses.

He submitted that both Muhammad Dilawar and Sabir were nominated in the case, but the trial court had already acquitted Sabir due to discrepancies in witness statements.He pleaded with the court to set aside the death sentence and acquit his client.

However, the prosecution argued that the trial court had awarded the death sentence on merit and pleaded with the court to dismiss the appeal.After hearing detailed arguments from both parties, the bench allowed the appeal and acquitted Muhammad Dilawar, overturning his death sentence.

The Ferozewala police had registered a case against Muhammad Dilawar and another individual on charges of killing Muhammad Tanvir, his former son-in-law, due to a grudge over divorce, on September 23, 2017. A sessions court subsequently handed down the death sentence to Muhammad Dilawar after finding him guilty in the case.