Ali Zar vs The State and another

ORDER

SOHAIL NASIR, J.---Ali Zar (petitioner ) had faced trial in case FIR No. 55 recorded on 25.01.2017 under sections 279/320/427/337-G, P.P.C. at Police Station Gujar Khan District Rawalpindi. On conclusion thereof vide a judgment dated 09.10.2019 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate with powers section 30, Cr.P.C. Gujar Khan, he was convicted and sentenced as under:

(1) Under section 320, P.P.C. to undergo two years' RI and to pay Rs. 2055336/- as Diyat to the legal heirs of each deceased.

(2) Under section 279, P .P.C. to pay fine of Rs.10000/- and in default thereof to further undergo ten days' SI.

(3) Under section 427, P.P.C. to undergo one month and fine of Rs.10000/-. In default of payment of fine to further undergo ten days' SL

(4) Under section 3, 7-G, P .P.C. to pay Rs.10000/- as Daman to each injured.

He was also ordered to pay Rs. 5000/- (five thousand) to each injured witness as compensation in terms of section 544-A, Cr.P.C. His all sentences were ordered to run concurrently . Benefit of section 382-B, Cr.P.C. was also extended to him.

2. Petitioner assailed his conviction through a criminal appeal, which was dismissed vide judgment dated 28.08.2020 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, W ar Khan;

3. Being dissatisfied from the judgments of both the Courts below , petitioner has approached this Court through instant criminal revision.

4. There is no need to refer the facts of the case because the judgment recorded by learned Court of appeal is short of standards prescribed for a good judgment. In paragraphs 6 and 7, argume nts of both sides were recorded and the conclusion was drawn through a short paragraph No. 9, which is as under: - "PW-1 to PW-S, in their respective examination in chiefs have unanimously supported the prosecution case. P. W- -1 to PW-4 have categorically stated that the accused was rashly and negligently driving the vehicle and due to said act of the accused Sana, Shahnaz and Awn died at the spot whereas Amir, Kashish, Bisma and Haram Zahra sustained severe injuries. Medical evidence in the form of oral depositions of Dr. Shahid Mehmood and MLC fully support the version of prosecution".

5, Part VII, Cr.P.0 is about Appeal, Refe rence and Revision whereas Chapter XXXI is with reference to appeals only. Section 424 relates to the Judgment of subordinate Appellate Courts and it says that: "The rules contained in Chapter XXVI as to the Judgment of a Criminal Court of original jurisdiction shall apply , so far as may be practicable, the judgment of any Appellate Court other than a High Court: Provided that....."

6. Section 367, Cr .P.0 of Chapter XXVI, states about language of the judgment and its contents. It is as under: - "(1) Every such judgment shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code, be written by the presiding officer of the Court or from the dictation of such presiding officer in the language of the Court or in English; and shall contain the point or points, for determination, the decision, thereon and the reasons for the decision ; and shall be dated and signed by the presiding officer in open Court at the time of pronouncing it and where it is not written by the presiding officer with his own hand, every page of such judgment shall be signed by him.

(Emphasized)

7. Chapter 25, Part-C, Volume III of Rules and Orders of the Lahore High Court, Lahore describes the contents of a judgment by the appellate Court that: - "The judgment of an Appellate Court should contain the points for determination, the decision and the sounds for that decision . (See sections 367 and 424 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. )"(Emphasized)

8. The judgment recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge by stretch of no imagination meets the procedural requirements. Considerable arguments were made by both the sides as evident from paragraphs 7 and 8 but in sole concluding paragraph it is difficult to understand that what the points for determination were there and how those were answered by the learned Court of Appeal?

9. In law a judgment is the decision of a Court regarding the rights and liabilities of the parties in a legal action or proceedings. It is an official proclamation by a Judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other Court proceedings.

10. Some important features of a good judgment are as under: - i. A good judgment enhances the image and perception associated with the justice delivery process and increases public confidence in the judiciary . ii. A well written to the point judgment based on comprehensive analysis of facts and law is not only an indication of the intellectual strength of a judge but also is a sign of a worthy judicial system. iii. The central purpose of a speaking judgment is to make clear the judges' own view. It explains the decision to the parties concerned. iv. Basic structure of a judgment should be such that a reader while reading it without difficulty understands the facts delineated in the judgment. Furthe r, a reader must be able to know effortlessly , the reasons given in it in reaching a just, and indeed one might say , often inevitable conclusion. v. Judgment must contain everything that needs to be said as to why a decision was reached and nothing more. vi. Failure to give a fair judgment will destroy the idea of justice for an innocent person. vii. It must base on deep critical analysis of all the facts relevant to the case and not on external consideration. viii. In all circumstance, it has to be transparent, unambiguous, and intelligible.

11. It is also said that a judgment should be transparent like clean water so that people can understand it without any doubt and probabilities.

12. In view of discussion made above, this Court finds that impugned judgment recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge is not a judgment in the eyes of law as contemplated under section 367, Cr.P.C. Non- compliance with the mandatory provisions is an illegality and not curable under the provisions of section 537, Cr.P.C. Therefore, this criminal revision is allowed. Impugned judgment dated 28.08.2020 is set aside. Case is1 remanded back to the learned appellate Court with direction to rewrite the judgment after hearing both the parties and without being influenced from earlier judgment. Parties are directed to appear before the Sessions Judge, Rawalpindi on 05.07.2021. The learned Sessions Judge shall hear the appeal himself or entrust it to some other Additional Sessions Judge (not the one who decided the appeal earlier). Petitioner is on bail and he shall continue to enjoy the said concession till the final disposal of appeal. . https://blog.ipleaders.in/judgment-cr-p-c/