KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday set aside death sentence handed down to a man by a sessions court in a kidnapping and murder case.

A sessions court had sentenced Mohammad Arshad to death in March last year for kidnapping and killing 21-year-old Gulfaraz in Khokhrapar in August 2017.

The convict, through his counsel, filed an appeal before the SHC against the trial court’s order. The bench comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio allowed the appeal and exonerated the appellant after hearing both sides and examining the record and proceedings of the case.

The bench in its judgement observed that the victim had disappeared on Aug 8, 2017 and his body was recovered on Sept 16, 2017. The complainant did not try to lodge any FIR about disappearance of his younger brother and unable to furnish any explanation for such delay, it said.

Bench expresses dissatisfaction with IO for faulty investigations

The bench stated in the verdict that the complainant was informed by police about the arrest of the appellant who disclosed during interrogation about his involvement in the kidnap and murder case and this extrajudicial confession before police was made the basis of the FIR and further investigation.

However, it noted that any confession in police custody was of no evidential value in court and one police officer admitted that he did not get the appellant’s confessional statement recorded before a judicial magistrate.

The bench further observed that as per police, the body was recovered on a lead provided by the appellant; however, merely pointing out dead body without any other substantive evidence was insufficient to form the basis of the conviction, it added.

“In order to secure a conviction, there must be additional evidence which is consistent with the guilt of the accused while in the present case the murder went un-witnessed,” it added.

According to the call data record (CDR), the victim had attended two calls of the appellant on the day of his disappearance, but mobile phones and SIMs allegedly used in the offence were not recovered and produced before the trial court, the verdict stated.

Additionally, the prosecution failed to produce a transcript or audio recording of the relevant ransom calls while it must establish that callers on both ends were the same individuals whose CDR was being used, it added.

The bench expressed its disappointment over the investigating officer, who had failed to investigate the case impartially as he did not involve all potential parties including the owner of the plot from where the body was found.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2023