SHAUKAT ALI vs FEROZE DIN and 2 others
This matter arises from a petition for leave to appeal filed against the judgment of the High Court, which altered the conviction of respondent No. 1 from murder under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304, Part I, P.P.C., reducing the death sentence to ten years' rigorous imprisonment, and correspondingly reduced the sentence under Section 307, P.P.C. The core legal question was whether the High Court was justified in altering the conviction and sentence based on findings of a sudden quarrel without premeditation. The Supreme Court held that the case was covered by Exception 4 to Section 300 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, as the occurrence took place suddenly during a scuffle, making the High Court's findings proper. The petition for leave to appeal was accordingly dismissed, establishing that where a mutual fight and sudden quarrel are established without premeditation, Exception 4 to Section 300 applies to mitigate the offence.
- Whether the alteration of conviction from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder is justified when a sudden quarrel is established?
- Does a mutual fight and sudden occurrence attract the application of Exception 4 to Section 300 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860?
- Whether material improvements and suppression of facts by eye-witnesses warrant the rejection of the prosecution's initial version of two separate occurrences?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 304, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 307, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 308, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 300, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
ORDER
1. ' MUHAMMAD AFZAL ZULLAH, J.--Leave to appeal has been sought, against the acceptance by the High Court, of a criminal revision filed by the respondents' side as a result of which the conviction of respondent No, 1 was altered from 302 to 304, Part I, P.P.C. And the sentence of death awarded to him was altered to 10 years' R.I. His conviction under section 307, P.P.C. Was maintained but the sentence was reduced from 8 years to 5 years' R.I. The case against the other respondents is not being pressed, therefore, for the purpose of this petition the facts and particulars about them need not be stated.
2. ' Learned counsel has contended that it was a clear case of murder and the conviction and sentence accordingly should have been upheld by the High Court.
3. ' The learned Judge in the High Court while discussing the evidence led by the prosecution made the following observation:- "In our view these are material improvements and indicate firstly that the eye-witnesses suppressed certain facts at the initial stage secondly that the narration of the occurrence and description of various injuries were not correctly given by them during investigation of the case. It is in evidence that Sardar Muhammad accused was empty-handed. If the accused had come to commit the murder of Muhammad Siddique and to launch murderous assault on the witnesses then Sarder Muhammad accused must also have taken some weapon in his hand. We get an impression that there was some quarrel between the parties in the street which all of a sudden took an ugly turn in which Muhammad Siddique deceased and his son Liaquat P.W. On one side and Feroze Din accused and his brother Muhammad Hussain accused on the other side took part."
4. "The presence of blood at various places also supports the view that the parties were running about when the occurrence took place all of a sudden and they caused injuries to each other." "We find that the prosecution story that there were two different occurrences, first that of abuses and the second when Muhammad Siddique deceased and the witnesses received injuries was not correct and true but it all happened during one occurrence all of a sudden."
5. ' We heard the learned counsel on the aforequoted views and findings by the High Court and with regard to what actually happened; regardless of, the two parallel versions of the two sides who obviously were involved in such a case that they would not concede each other's case. He failed to satisfy us that this case is not covered by the principles laid down by this Court in the well-known case `Syed Ali Bepari v. Nibaran Mollah and others' (PLD 1962 SC 502). If they are attracted then the conviction of respondent No,1 under section 304, Part I by application of Exception 4 to section 300, P.P.C. Was proper. The sentence of 10 years R.I. Awarded to respondent No, 1 for the said offence is neither illegal nor inappropriate. The sentence of 5 years R.I. Awarded by the High Court under section 307, P.P.C. Which could have been altered to 308, P.P.C. Is also not inappropriate. No justification has been made out for grant of leave to appeal. The same accordingly is refused.