KARACHI: The Supreme Court on (SC) on Monday acquitted a driver who was handed four-year imprisonment for killing a pedestrian in a road accident.
The apex court bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, was hearing the appeal of a truck driver, Shafiqur Rehman, who was awarded four-year term in the accident case.
The convict through his counsel challenged the punishment awarded by the trial court and submitted that the prosecution had failed to submit any concrete evidence against him.
The defence counsel argued that the trial court did not follow due procedure while convicting Rehman.
The court was requested to set aside the judgment of the trial court and to order the release of the convict.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the apex court bench set aside the punishment and ruled that the convict should be released if not arrested in any other case.
During the hearing, Justice Khosa remarked that usually drivers are blamed for accidents but nobody bothers to make pedestrians realise their faults. The courts do not make decisions on emotions but as per laws, he said while urging the pedestrians to follow traffic rules so as to avert accidents.