ANWAR GILL vs MUHAMMAD JEHANGIR and another
The petitioner sought leave to appeal against the acquittal of the respondent by the Lahore High Court for the murder of a young Christian girl under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860. The trial court had initially convicted the respondent based on the testimony of an eye-witness and the recovery of a blood-stained knife, sentencing him to imprisonment for life. However, the High Court accepted the respondent's appeal and acquitted him after disbelieving the eye-witness testimony and the recovery evidence. Upon hearing the petitioner's counsel and reviewing the record, the Supreme Court of Pakistan held that the High Court had rightly discarded the compromised eye-witness testimony and the recovery, leaving no sustainable evidence to maintain the conviction. The Court found no misreading or non-appreciation of evidence by the High Court. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for leave to appeal, affirming the acquittal. The key principle laid down is that an appellate court's judgment acquitting an accused will not be interfered with when the primary evidence and eye-witness accounts are found unreliable and no misreading of evidence is established.
- Whether the Supreme Court will interfere with an order of acquittal when the High Court has rightly disbelieved the eye-witness testimony and recovery?
- Can a conviction for murder under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 be maintained solely on discredited eye-witnesses and unverified weapon recoveries?
- Whether a petition for leave to appeal against acquittal is maintainable when the High Court has not misread or ignored any material portion of the prosecution evidence?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
ORDER
' ASLAM RIAZ HUSSAIN, Actg. C.J.-- Anwar Gill petitioner seeks leave to appeal against the acquittal of Muhammad Jehangir respondent, of the charge under section 302, P.P.C. By the Lahore High Court, Lahore vide its judgment, dated 5-2-1979.
2. The facts, briefly, are that Muhammad Jehangir respondent was tried for having murdered a young Christian girl named Mst. Shahnaz Tanvir on 4-10-1975, by causing her as many as 15 knife injuries on various parts of her body, in a field outside the Sialkot City.
' The prosecution relied on 3 eye-witnesses in support of its case, namely Muhammad Khalil (P.W.7), Anwar Gill brother of the deceased (P.W.8) and Sadiq Masih (P.W.12) (brother of Sultan P.W.
Who is brother-in-law of the deceased). The accused was arrested two days later. At the time of his arrest he is alleged to have been carrying the blood-stained knife (P.8) with him which was taken into possession.
' The motive of the offence is stated to be that the accused misbehaved with the deceased, of which she complained to her brother later, when she took up a job with a Travel Agency, the accused/ respondent objected to it. The learned Trial Court disbelieved the motive as well as the testimony of Anwar Gill (P.W.8) and Sadiq Masih (P.W.12), but relied on the testimony of Muhammad Khalil (Khalil Akbar) P.W.7 and convicted the petitioner under section 302, P.P.C. For which he was sentenced to imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs,5,000.
' The respondent filed an appeal before the High Court against his conviction which was accepted by it, and the respondent was acquitted.
' Hence the present petition.
3. We have heard the petitioner's counsel at length and gone through the impugned judgment as well as relevant portions of the record. The High Court has rightly disbelieved the third eye-witness namely Muhammad Khalil P.W.7 and also the recovery of the knife (P.8). As such there was no evidence on which the respondent's conviction could be maintained. The learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to point out any flaw in the impugned judgment nor was he able to show that the learned High Court had either misread or ignored any portion of the prosecution evidence.
' The petition is, therefore, dismissed as having no force.