News of the Nation, Lahore, 28 June 1997

One levelling baseless Zina charges cannot become witness

LAHORE - A Full Bench of the Federal Shariat Court has held that one who incriminates an innocent person in a zina case, stands disqualified for good to give evidence in any other case.

The Bench, comprising Mr Justice Fida Muhammad Khan, Mr Justice Abdul Waheed Siddique and Mr Justice Muhammad Khayyar, has held that a person who levels on the honour of another person, false allegations which invoke hadd liability, is disqualified forever to stand witness in any other case and if the allegations are proved false, he must receive the same punishment as is awarded to the accused person. However, the Bench added that although his sentence might be reprieved, his evidence in any other case would not be accepted throughout his life.

The court made these observations in a famous case of Manshera wherein the Sessions Court had awarded 80 lashes to one Muhammad Humayun for incriminating a woman in a zina case under Hadood liability while the allegations later turned out to be false.

Humayun then moved the court against his conviction. The FSC decided the matter on the basis of a law case which required production of four witnesses in a zina case and that if one who fails to do the needful in zina case, he himself comes under the criminal liability. The court held that even the sentence so awarded is waived, and the accuser is deemed an accused of committing kazf (mendacity). The court, however, upheld the sentence awarded to the appellant as he had failed to produce four witnesses in his defence.