And the hadd for false accusation of adultery is dropped by pardon, and it is not carried out without a claim.

The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "And the hadd for false accusation of adultery is dropped by pardon, and it is not carried out without a claim" Why? Because it is a right belonging to the one accused. And if it is a right belonging to the one accused, and he does not claim it, the accuser is not subjected to the hadd. Is he subjected to discretionary punishment? The apparent view of the scholars is that he is not subjected to discretionary punishment, because it is a right belonging to the one accused, and the one accused did not claim it. However, if the one in authority sees, considering the reform of society in a general sense and the prevention of such phrases from being uttered, that he should subject him to discretionary punishment, he does so. And his statement "is dropped by pardon", the apparent view is that this applies even if it is after the case has been brought to the Imam or the judge, because it is a right belonging to the one accused, a pure right, established by the command of Allah to secure the right of the one accused. This is unlike theft, where if a man steals his money, he has the option not to claim it from the thief, and the Imam does not interfere with the thief as long as the one from whom it was stolen has not claimed it. But if the matter is brought to the one in authority, the one from whom it was stolen does not have the authority to drop it. The difference between the two is apparent, because theft contains two aspects: it has the aspect of a human right, which is the guarantee of the money, and the aspect of cutting off the hand, which is a right for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, it is in between: if it is brought to the judge, the one from whom it was stolen does not have the authority to drop it, and if it is not brought, he has the option not to claim it.