GHULAM MURTAZA vs MUHAMMAD ARIF alias BAHARI and others
This petition for leave to appeal arises from an order of the Lahore High Court maintaining the conviction of respondent Muhammad Arif under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 for the murder of Ghulam Hussain, but reducing his sentence from death to imprisonment for life due to the non-availability of an immediate motive on record. The core legal question concerns whether the absence of an immediate motive constitutes a sufficient mitigating circumstance to justify the reduction of a death sentence to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to consider this question, noting that leave had already been granted in a similar matter involving an identical question of an unknown or concealed motive. The Court held that the petition warranted a detailed consideration alongside the connected matter and directed that the respondent remain in custody during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whether the absence of an immediate motive for an offense can serve as a mitigating circumstance to reduce a sentence of death to imprisonment for life?
- Does the non-availability of an immediate motive on record justify interference with the quantum of sentence in a murder conviction under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
ORDER
1. ' S. USMAN ALI SHAH, J.--This petition for leave to appeal has been filed by Ghulam Murtaza petitioner against the order of the Lahore High Court, Lahore dated 26-9-1987, whereby Criminal Appeal No,703 of 1984 of Muhammad Arif alias Bahari against his conviction under section 302, P.P.C. For the murder of Ghulam Hussain deceased was maintained but death sentence awarded to him by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kasur was reduced to imprisonment for life, on the ground of non-availability of immediate motive of the occurrence on record by the impugned judgment.
2. ' The learned counsel for the petitioner urged that the guilt against the accused respondent No,1 has been fully proved under section 302, P.P.C. And no mitigating circumstances are available on the record to justify the reduction in his sentence from death to life imprisonment. We have observed that the learned High Court reduced the sentence of the respondent No,1 to life imprisonment on the ground of non-availability of so-called immediate motive for the occurrence though there was other motive.
3. ' This Court has already granted leave in Criminal Petition No,129 of 1987 which involved an identical fact of unknown or deliberately concealed motive of offence. Under the circumstances we think it proper to grant leave in this petition as well for the consideration of this Court.
4. ' The appeal is to be heard alongwith appeal arising in Criminal Petition No,129 of 1987 in which leave has already been granted on 19-6-1989. Muhammad Arif respondent shall not be released during the pendency of the appeal in this Court.