Court Acquits Sharjeel Memon in 2018 Liquor Case After Eight Years
KARACHI: After eight years, a judicial magistrate on Tuesday acquitted Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and five others in the case over the alleged recovery of liquor from his room at Dr Ziauddin Hospital.
Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam acquitted Memon and the five co-accused for lack of evidence, after hearing the case and examining the record.
The case dated back to a raid by the then chief justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, who allegedly found liquor in Memon’s hospital room. A case was later registered at the Boat Basin police station under Section 4 of the Prevention (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance 1979, along with Sections 201 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Why the court acquitted Sharjeel Memon
The acquittal turned on the chemical examination report. The prosecution had alleged that the suspected liquor bottles were recovered from the possession of the accused. But the chemical report did not support that claim. It said the bottles contained honey and olive oil.
“Thus, both the reports being material pieces of evidence have failed to corroborate the prosecution version,” the court observed. “It is settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that the prosecution is bound to establish the case beyond the reasonable doubt and the burden of proving the guilt of accused cannot be shifted upon him.”
The judge added that mere allegations by police officials, without reliable and corroborative evidence, were insufficient to sustain a conviction, particularly when the scientific evidence on record contradicted the prosecution’s story. The court found the prosecution had failed to establish the essential ingredients of the alleged offences beyond a reasonable doubt.
How the case began in September 2018
According to the prosecution, on September 1, 2018, the assistant superintendent of Karachi Central Prison received information that illegal activities were taking place in a private hospital room where Memon was staying due to illness. The room had been declared a sub-jail because Memon was in judicial custody in connection with a NAB reference.
Jail police went to the room and recovered two bottles, one allegedly containing alcohol and the other apparently containing honey. A case was then registered against Memon and his employees at the Boat Basin police station.
During the trial, defence counsel Uroosha Memon argued that her client had been falsely implicated for political victimisation. She pointed out that the chemical reports showed the bottles held honey and olive oil, and noted that despite the hospital being a crowded place, police had not associated any private witness with the recovery.
The verdict closes one of the more unusual chapters of the accountability-era cases against PPP figures in Sindh. Memon, a senior minister in the Murad Ali Shah cabinet, has maintained throughout that the case was politically motivated.
Why was Sharjeel Memon acquitted?
The court found the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The chemical examination report, the key scientific evidence, said the recovered bottles contained honey and olive oil rather than liquor, directly contradicting the prosecution’s claim.
What was the 2018 liquor case about?
In September 2018, the then chief justice raided Memon’s room at Dr Ziauddin Hospital, where he was staying while in judicial custody in a NAB reference, and allegedly found liquor. Police registered a case at the Boat Basin police station. Memon’s defence called it political victimisation.
Who else was acquitted?
Five co-accused, described as Memon’s employees, were acquitted alongside him for the same lack of evidence.
