SUKKUR: The single bench of the Sindh High Court, Circuit Bench Sukkur, headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro, in a historic verdict, set aside the conviction of a Hindu Teacher, Noutal Lal, from Ghotki district on Friday.
The teacher was convicted for a life term in 2022. Justice Kalhoro, in his 16-page verdict, dismissed the conviction and the fine of Rs 0.5 million, and ordered his immediate release from Sukkur Jail.
The senior lawyer, Advocate Mohammad Yousaf Leghari, pleaded that Professor Noutan was implicated in an FIR under false and fabricated charges.
Justice Kalhoro, in the landmark verdict, said that Noutan was not found guilty of the charges under which he was charged and then convicted by the trial court, adding that he passed remarks that police officers should act wisely before registering such cases of very sensitive matters. He said that during the court proceedings, all the witnesses produced before the court could not prove the charges which were initially framed against the convict.
The Hindu teacher was booked under blasphemy laws by Ghotki police in 2019 on charges of committing the act of blasphemy and was convicted by the district and sessions judge in 2022.
