The Lahore High Court (LHC) has acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment in a narcotics case after concluding that police officers had falsely implicated him by planting 19 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Ijaz, a resident of Peshawar, had been convicted by a trial court following a drug possession case registered against him by police in Liaqatpur, Punjab.
After the conviction, his brother challenged the verdict before the Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur Bench, seeking to overturn the life sentence.
Upon reviewing the case, the High Court found that the alleged recovery of 19 kilogrammes of cannabis had been fabricated and that the drugs had been planted by police officers rather than recovered from Ijaz.
The court subsequently overturned the trial court’s judgment and acquitted him of the charges.
Following the findings of police misconduct, an inspector and an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) implicated in the false prosecution were dismissed from service.
The case highlights serious concerns about the misuse of police authority and the consequences of fabricated evidence in criminal proceedings.