17 February, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
The Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), has acquitted a man previously sentenced to death by a trial court on charges of blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The court, in its detailed judgment, cited serious doubts over the prosecution’s evidence and procedural lapses, leading to the acquittal of the accused.
S. Ali, son of M, was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Hasan Abdal, on July 7, 2023, for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and other figures of Islam. The trial court had sentenced him to death under Section 295-C PPC, along with a fine of Rs. 100,000, and an additional three years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) under Section 298-A PPC.
‘Not enough evidence’
However, a divisional bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) comprising of Justice Sadiq Mahmud Khurram and Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad overturned the conviction, citing multiple inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case. The court noted that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and the evidence presented was marred by contradictions and procedural irregularities.
The court highlighted that the alleged incident occurred on April 10, 2020, at 6: 45 am, but the matter was reported to the police nearly nine hours later. The prosecution failed to provide a plausible explanation for this delay, raising doubts about the authenticity of the complaint.
“We have also noticed that not only the matter was reported to the police with delay but the statements of the prosecution witnesses were also recorded with substantial delay, without any explanation for the said delay,” the order noted.
The court observed that the prosecution witnesses gave entirely different accounts of the words allegedly spoken by the accused.
“It proves that it is a case of ‘Chinese Whispers’ ,with the information being passed on from one prosecution witness to another”, the court order read.
The court noted that the prosecution witnesses claimed to have heard the blasphemous remarks but made no effort to apprehend the accused at the scene. This lack of immediate action was deemed unnatural, especially in a case involving such serious allegations. The court observed that the evidence was fabricated to prove the prosecution case.
“A criminal charge is to be essentially settled on positive proof alone and not on perceptional or optical paradigms. It is a well settled principle of law that one who makes an assertion has to prove it. Thus, the onus rests on the prosecution to prove guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt throughout the trial,” the judgement said.
The court emphasized that in criminal cases, the prosecution must prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, the prosecution failed to meet this standard, and the accused was entitled to the benefit of the doubt. The court cited several Supreme Court rulings, including Muhammad Mansha Vs. The State (2018 SCMR 772), which held that even a single circumstance creating reasonable doubt is sufficient to acquit an accused.
After a thorough review of the evidence, the LHC allowed S. Ali’s appeal, set aside his conviction and sentence, and ordered his immediate release if he was not required in any other case.
S. Ali, who had been in custody since his arrest in April 2020, was ordered to be released.