A trial court in Lahore had earlier sentenced Sawan Masih to death.

A division bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi acquitted Sawan Masih, who was arrested for allegedly committing blasphemy during a conversation with a Muslim friend in Joseph Christian Colony in March 2014, reports The News International.

Appreciating the decision, Michelle Chaudhry president of The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation (CICF) issued a statement and said: “There is no doubt that the rule of law has been upheld and justice has prevailed. However, unfortunately an innocent person has had to lose over seven precious years of his life and no one is held responsible; he and his family have had to endure extremely traumatic circumstances for a crime that had never been committed.”

Naveed Walter, President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) told ANI that the charges of blasphemy are in fact the results of personal grudges, biased behaviours and discriminatory practices, the verdict on the Sawan Masih case has proved again after Asia Bibi's case.