The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a prisoner who had been in jail 12-year for a murder. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the conviction.
The case dates back to 2010, when Aijaz was accused of killing the husband of his co-accused, Nasim Akhtar. The prosecution alleged that the two had an illicit relationship and that Ajaz had electrocuted the victim before shooting him.
The prosecution claimed that the victim’s brother, the complainant in the case, witnessed the crime and caught the accused red-handed. However, the Supreme Court found inconsistencies in the testimonies and evidence presented.
The court noted that the complainant claimed the victim had informed him about the illicit relationship between Aijaz and Akhtar, but the complainant himself did not witness the relationship. The court also pointed out that the victim never filed any complaint against his wife or Ajaz for their alleged affair.
The court expressed surprise that the lower court had concluded that an illicit relationship existed without any concrete evidence. It also noted that the incident occurred in broad daylight, yet no one corroborated the complainant’s story.
The Supreme Court found that the record indicated that Akhtar had been pressuring her husband for a share in his family inheritance. Based on this, the court concluded that the victim’s death was likely a suicide, as claimed by the defense.
SC, after carefully reviewing the evidence, acquitted both Ajaz and Akhtar, stating that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.