LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has upheld the life sentence of a man convicted for killing his wife.

A trial court of district Pakpattan had convicted Shafqat Ali under section 302 (b) of Pakistan Penal Code and awarded him a life sentence besides imposing a fine of Rs300,000 to be paid to the legal heirs of the deceased as compensation.

The convict challenged his sentence before the LHC, pleading that the case against him was a result of an ulterior motive and due to suspicion. He said the story of the complainant was disbelieved by the police as his brother, mother and father, who were co-accused, were declared innocent in the investigation.

The convict, a rickshaw driver, stated that he was in Lahore on the day of the incident and the body of the deceased was found in a barren area of the village.

The complainant alleged that the motive behind the occurrence was that gold ornaments of the deceased were robbed at her in-laws’ house, and she suspected that the ornaments were stolen by the accused party, due to which the incident occurred.

However, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum observed in her judgement that the defence itself proved that the place of occurrence was not a barren area, rather the murder of deceased Humaira Bibi took place in the house of the convict’s father.

The chief justice also rejected the other plea of the convict that he was in Lahore on the day of the incident and did not commit the incident.

The chief justice noted that the appellant/convict did not produce any material evidence or witnesses to establish his presence in Lahore.

The chief justice observed that the trend of cross-examination of the witnesses examined on behalf of the convict indicated that the occurrence occurred similarly to what the prosecution stated.

She said the defence failed to bring to the record any material to infer that it was a case of false implication in the cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses.

She noted that the court carefully examined the evidence of the complainant and the eyewitness of the occurrence.

“They have given a vivid account of the entire sequence of events and fully proved the prosecution’s case. The defence has not been able to make any dent in their deposition during cross-examination,” Chief Justice Neelum observed.

The CJ dismissed the appeal and upheld the conviction of the appellant.

The chief justice also dismissed two separate appeals of the complainant for the enhancement of the sentence of the convict and against the acquittal of other co-accused persons.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2025