PESHAWAR, July 4: Taking suo motu notice in a narcotics case, the Peshawar High Court on Thursday sentenced a drug pusher, earlier acquitted by a trial court, to life imprisonment.

The accused, Badr Munir, cleaner of a truck, had faced trial with the driver before the district and sessions judge of Kohat. The court had acquitted him whereas the driver, Wajid Ali Khan, was awarded life imprisonment.

The driver had filed an appeal before the high court against the verdict of the sessions judge.

A division bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Ijazul Hassan took up for hearing the driver’s appeal and observed that on the basis of the same evidence one of the accused was acquitted but the other one convicted. The bench took suo motu notice of the acquittal and issued notice to the cleaner.

The accused were arrested on April 24, 1997, near Kohat. The police had recovered from their truck 286 kilograms of charas and 92 kg of opium.

After hearing both the parties, the bench ruled that the prosecution had proved its case against both the accused. It observed that keeping in view the same evidence it was not possible to acquit one accused and convict the other.