Sindh High Court suspends smuggling conviction

Sindh High Court suspends smuggling conviction

The Sindh High Court has suspended the sentence of a man convicted in a diesel smuggling case and ordered his release on bail against surety bonds worth Rs500,000.

A bench of the Sindh High Court heard the case and granted relief to the convict, identified as Gul Zaman, after raising questions about the prosecution’s evidence and the circumstances surrounding the alleged smuggling.

During the hearing, the Customs prosecutor informed the court that a customs court had convicted Gul Zaman in July after finding him guilty of smuggling. The trial court had sentenced him to six years in prison and imposed a fine.

However, the high court expressed concerns over the prosecution’s case, particularly the decision to make only the tanker driver an accused in the case.

The court observed that it was surprising that the prosecution had implicated only the tanker driver while failing to establish the involvement of any other person in the alleged smuggling operation.

The judges also questioned the circumstances under which the diesel was classified as smuggled. The court noted that authorities did not recover the diesel from a border area, raising doubts about the basis of the prosecution’s claim.

The Sindh High Court further observed that the prosecution had failed to explain what evidence or legal grounds it relied upon to conclude that the diesel was smuggled.

After hearing the arguments, the court suspended Gul Zaman’s sentence and ordered his release on bail upon submission of surety bonds amounting to Rs500,000.

The court’s order provides temporary relief to the convict while questions remain over the evidence used to establish that the seized diesel was smuggled.