MUHAMMAD NAWAZ vs MUHAMMAD HUSSAIN LASHKARANI And 2 Other
This petition for leave to appeal was filed against the judgment of the Lahore High Court whereby the conviction of the respondents was altered from Section 307 of the Pakistan Penal Code to Section 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and their sentence was reduced from five years' rigorous imprisonment to one year's rigorous imprisonment. The core legal question was whether the High Court was justified in altering the conviction and reducing the sentence based on the mitigating circumstances of the case. The Supreme Court held that the High Court provided cogent reasons for its decision, including the simple nature of the firearm injuries, the lack of repeated firing, the sudden motive arising from suspected illicit relations, the absence of previous enmity, and the agony of a prolonged trial lasting over nine years. Consequently, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the impugned judgment and dismissed the petition for enhancement of sentence, laying down that mitigating circumstances such as delayed trial and absence of previous enmity justify sentence reduction in appropriate cases.
- Whether the High Court is justified in altering a conviction from section 307 to section 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code when the firearm injuries sustained are simple in nature?
- Can the agony of a prolonged trial be considered a mitigating circumstance for the reduction of a sentence?
- Is the Supreme Court inclined to interfere with a High Court's sentence reduction order based on cogent reasoning and mitigating factors?
- Section 307, Pakistan Penal Code
- Section 324, Pakistan Penal Code
- Section 148, Pakistan Penal Code
- Section 149, Pakistan Penal Code
ORDER
1. JAVID IQBAL J.-- This petition for leave to appeal has been filed by Mohammad Nawaz petitioner and is directed against the judgment dated 20 May, 1981 passed by the learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court, Lahore whereby conviction of Mohammad Hussain and Sher Mohammad respondents was altered from one under section 307 PPC to that under section 324, P.P.C., and their sentence was reduced from five years' R.I. Each to one year's R.I. Each. Hence this petition for enhancement of sentence awarded to the respondents.
2. The respondents alongwith eight others were tried under section 148/307/149, P.P.C. By Magistrate Section 30, Mianwali, who vide his judgment dated 27 August, 1980 convicted the two respondents under section 307, P.P.C. And sentenced each of them to five years' R.I., whereas the other co- accused were acquitted of the charges. The occurrence took place on 19 March, 1972 at 5 p.m. And the report was lodged about 21 hours thereafter. The prosecution version is that Mohammad Nawaz complainant-petitioner alongwith Mohammad Nawaz son of Allah Bakhsh was returning home when they were attacked by the respondents who were armed with guns. They sustained injuries due to the shots fired by the respondents. The motive for the offence was that the respondents had a suspicion that Mohammad Nawaz complainant-petitioner had illicit relations with the sister of Mohammad Hussain respondent. The learned trial Court as well as the learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court, Lahore have accepted the prosecution version completely but the learned Single Judge has advanced cogent reasons in paragraph 8 of the impugned judgment for altering the conviction and reducing the sentence of the respondents. The reasons are that the injuries sustained in this case although by fire-arm were simple in nature, the fire was not repeated, the respondents had suspected that the complainant-petitioner was carrying on illicit relationship with the sister of Mohammad Hussain respondent, there was nothing on the record to show that there was any other background of enmity between the parties and that the respondents had faced the agony of prolonged trial for over 61 years. In that view of the matter in our view it is not a fit case for interference.
3. The petition is accordingly dismissed.