The prosecution/police’s suspicion does not replace the need for reliable evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The accused was convicted under PPC 302(b) and Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance (VII of 1979), and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a young girl. The Federal Shariat Court upheld the sentence.
The accused was alleged to have raped and murdered the deceased, leaving her body in a forest. A prosecution witness claimed to have seen the deceased entering the shop of the accused but admitted on cross-examination that at the relevant time he was en route to another destination, and that the shop was not on his way. Another prosecution witness claimed to have seen the accused walking towards the forest with a bag but it was never established that this bag contained a dead body, and the body was not found in a bag. The accused allegedly made a confession before a Magistrate but he later retracted it before the Trial Court so in the absence of independent corroboration, the confession could not be relied upon. Medical evidence could not establish who committed the murder. The police claimed to have recovered incriminating articles from the accused which allegedly belonged to the deceased. However the dates on the notes recording the recoveries had obviously been tampered with and the prosecution failed to convincingly show that the articles belonged to the deceased. The Supreme Court held that the case appeared to be based on the suspicion of the police and prosecution rather than evidence. The accused was acquitted.
