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ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):The Supreme Court has acquitted Abdul Razzaq, who had been convicted in a murder case, after hearing his appeal on Thursday.
During the hearing, the court ordered his acquittal from all charges after the completion of arguments by both sides.
Counsel for the convict, Advocate Sagheer Ahmed Qadri, argued that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses and the medical evidence did not corroborate each other, making it unsafe to uphold the conviction. He urged the court to issue clear directions to improve trial procedures.
Advocate Sagheer Ahmed Qadri further pointed out that under High Court rules, trials are required to be completed within one week, but these rules are not being implemented in practice. He noted that cross-examinations are often delayed for months after witnesses record their statements, and in the present case as well, cross-examination took place several months after the witness testimony.
During the proceedings, Justice Hashim Kakar remarked that the role of lawyers is no longer the same as in the past and that the nature of challenges faced by the judiciary has evolved. He observed that some lawyers now present mobile recordings in court even before a witness formally records a statement.
The defense counsel requested the Supreme Court to issue a formal ruling to address systemic flaws in the trial process in order to prevent similar issues in future cases.
It is worth noting that the trial court had initially sentenced Abdul Razzaq to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court. However, after hearing all arguments, the Supreme Court ordered his complete acquittal.