PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday acquitted a man previously sentenced to death in a murder case, allowing his appeal and setting aside the conviction.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah heard the case.
The appellant, Tahir Khan, was represented by advocates Khalid Khan Mohmand, Abdul Majeed Yousafzai and Maaz Khalil.
During the hearing, the defence counsel informed the court that Tahir Khan had been convicted for the murder of a man identified as Waqar, who was killed on May 23, 2023, in the jurisdiction of Faqirabad Police Station.
According to the prosecution, the motive for the murder was that the accused allegedly had an interest in the victim’s wife and sought to eliminate the victim as a result.
The defence argued that the trial court had primarily relied on the accused’s alleged confession in awarding the death sentence. However, counsel contended that the legal requirements governing a valid confession had not been fulfilled.
The lawyers pleaded that the physical and circumstantial evidence collected from the scene contained significant contradictions and inconsistencies.
They said that the accused had been taken into custody and kept in illegal detention before his formal arrest was made by police. The counsels pointed out that the complainant’s own statement supported this claim, as the victim’s father had stated that he had seen Tahir Khan in police custody three days before his arrest was officially recorded.
According to the defence, these circumstances cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s case and suggested that the confession may have been obtained under coercion.
The lawyers argued that several important legal issues had been overlooked during the trial and that the death penalty, being an exceptional punishment reserved for extraordinary circumstances, was not justified in the present case. They maintained that the trial court had failed to properly consider contradictions in the evidence before convicting the accused.
On the other hand, counsel for the complainant argued that the accused had voluntarily confessed to the crime and that evidence also suggested a relationship involving the victim’s wife and the accused. He prayed the court to uphold the conviction and dismiss the appeal.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench accepted the appeal, set aside the death sentence, and acquitted Tahir Khan of the charges.
