A sessions court in Lahore on Monday acquitted a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran, finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a direct link between the accused and the alleged offense.
The accused was charged under Sections 295-A and 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code following the registration of FIR No. 701 on April 27, 2024. The complainant reported that he witnessed a man near Shadman Chowk removing his shoes and placing papers containing sacred verses beneath them, with additional pages scattered across the road.
The trial began on January 16, 2025, with the accused pleading not guilty and maintaining his innocence, including denying presence at the scene. The court’s 10-page judgment concluded that the prosecution’s case collapsed due to unreliable witness testimonies, missing evidence, and unverified digital proof.
The judge granted the accused the benefit of the doubt as a matter of right. The complainant, while deposing in court, failed to positively identify the accused despite claiming to have seen him desecrate the pages. Cross-examination also revealed the complainant had not personally drafted the application.
A key private witness testified to seeing a crowd apprehending someone but could not identify the accused in court. The prosecution also abandoned a secondary eyewitness—a security guard who allegedly helped apprehend the suspect.
The court noted that withholding this independent witness deprived the case of crucial corroboration. While the prosecution relied on CCTV footage from the Punjab Safe Cities Authority, the judge ruled the digital evidence inadmissible after the prosecution failed to present it in court, examine forensic experts, or verify its authenticity through laboratory testing.
The judge cited Supreme Court precedents, including the Asia Bibi case, emphasizing that reasonable doubt entitles an accused to acquittal as a matter of right. The court acknowledged the sanctity of the Holy Quran while stressing that the gravity of the accusation cannot override legal standards of proof.
“The doubts are not imaginary, artificial or far-fetched. They arise from the prosecution evidence itself,” the judge ruled. The court ordered the accused released immediately and directed that the recovered sacred pages be handled with due reverence.
