Lahore:
Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted a woman and her co-accused who were convicted of murdering her husband after the prosecution has not created the case against them.
The division bench, led by Justice Shehram Sarwar, overturned the court’s judgment and assigned the benefits of the doubts to the defendants.
The accused, Muhammad Dilawar and Hina, was originally convicted by a Sargodha Case in connection with the murder of Muhammad Munir.
The case, which was registered under FIR 676/2019 on November 16, 2019, at the police station Jhaal Chakian, was filed according to sections 302, 201 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
On December 2, 2021, the trial convicted both accused of death in accordance with section 302 (b) PPC and ordered them to pay RS1,000,000 each in compensation to the deceased legal heirs in accordance with section 544-A in the criminal case (CRPC).
In addition, they were sentenced to seven years of string prison according to section 201 PPC and fined RS. 25,000 each with a standard sentence of six months simple prison.
The criminal sentences appealed their convictions before LHC, which found that the prosecution had not proven the prosecutors beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court, which refers to the precedent of the Supreme Court in Pakistan, stated that even a single circumstance that created reasonable doubt is sufficient to give an acquittal.
In this case, the Court noted that several discrepancies and doubts in the prosecutor’s evidence made the case unreliable.
According to FIR, the case was initiated based on a complaint from Muhammad Zaheer, the brother of the deceased.
He claimed that his brother, Muhammad Munir, had married Hina Bibi on July 27, 2019, but suspected her of having an illegal relationship with the co-accused, Dilawar.
Munir had allegedly warned Hina and Dilawar about their relationship, but they ignored his objections.
On November 1, 2019, Munir and Hina participated in a wedding ceremony in Fatima Jinnah Colony, but Munir disappeared later. A search for him proved meaningless.
