ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday suspended the prison sentence of Rizwan, who had already served 10 years behind bars, and issued his release orders.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa, while hearing Rizwan’s plea, said that there were evident contradictions in the statements of the eyewitnesses in the case. The complainant’s lawyer also accused the police of concealing facts in the case.
Reacting aggressively to the lawyer’s statement, the chief justice said, “Can your statement prove the police to be dishonest? This is our issue. We only agree with the verdict if it comes in our favour.” The top judge remarked that since the murder took place in Punjab, the proceedings of the case should be carried out in the courts of the province.
“The courts in Punjab either award the death penalty if the suspects are proven guilty or award them a life sentence if they are not proven guilty,” the top judge said.
The court then accepted Rizwan’s plea and issued his release orders.
It is pertinent to mention here that Rizwan was handed over life imprisonment by a trial court for allegedly murdering a man named Javed Salman back in 2009.
