LAHORE – A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Monday acquitted three persons, convicted to death for killing the parents of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, over insufficient evidence.
In January 2016, a sessions court had handed down a death sentence on two counts to Naveed Iqbal, step-brother of incumbent NAB chairman, Abbas Shakir and Ameen Ali for killing the couple. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 550,000 each on the convicts.
Malik Abdul Hameed, 80, and Zarina, 70, were found murdered in their house on January 11, 2011. A case was registered against unknown robbers on the complaint of Saeed Iqbal, brother of Justice Javed.
Later, the police arrested the convicts and alleged that Naveed Iqbal in connivance with the other two suspects had murdered the judge’s parents over a monetary dispute.
The bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Shehram Sarwar Ch. announced the verdict while allowing appeals of the convicts- Naveed Iqbal, Abbas Shakir and Ameen Ali- against their sentence.
Defence counsel Advocate Nighat Saeed Mughal argued that the police arrested the convicts on mere suspicion after the incident and there was no eye-witness of the incident.
She submitted that it was a case of circumstantial evidence but the prosecution failed to produce incriminating evidence against his clients.
But, the trial court convicted the appellants despite the fact there was no solid evidence against them, she added.
The counsel pleaded with the court to acquit the convicts after setting aside their sentence. However, a prosecutor opposed the appeals and submitted that the trial court handed down the sentence on merit as sufficient evidence was available against the convicts.
Subsequently, after hearing detailed arguments of the parties, the bench acquitted the convicts after setting aside their sentence while allowing their appeals.
