1985 PLP 730 (MLD)

Fazal Karim (45) was tried for the murder of Irshad Ahmad. On 25-5-1977, Sessions Judge, Faisalabad, sentenced him to life imprisonment under section 302, P.P.C. He was further sentenced to one year's R.I. on the two counts under section 324, P.P.C. All his sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The convict has appealed through jail.

2. At 2 p.m. on 19-8-1974 Irshad Ahmad, deceased, was sitting on a Charpai under a Shisham tree within the area of Agricultural University, Faisalabad, P.Ws. Muhammad Inayat and Muhammad Boota were lying on Charpasis a few paces away from him. At that time P.Ws. Muhammad Iqbal was on his way home coming from the fields. He was at a distance of about a Killa when he saw the accused attacking Irshad Ahmad with a hatchet. P.Ws. Inayat and Muhammad 13oota were attracted on the alarm raised- by the informant. They all chased the accused alongwith P.Ws. Muhammad Iqbal, Ghiasud Din, F.Cs. and apprehended him there and then. During the struggle, P.Ws. Muhammad Inayat and Muhammad Boota suffered injuries at the hands of the accused who also received injuries at their hands. After securing the accused, P.W. 8 Muhammad Iqbal and P.W. 1 Muhammad Iqbal, F.C. proceeded towards the police station with the accused. They met with P.W. 12 Safdar Ali Shah, S.I./S.H.O., P.S. Civil Lines, Faisalabad, at the jail road where he was on Gasht duty. P.W.8 Muhammad Iqbal made statement Exh. P.A. to him at 3 p.m. on the basis of which formal F.I.R. Exh. P.A./1 at 3-20. p.m. was registered at P.S. Civil Lines. The S.I. arrested -the accused and secured the blood-stained hatchet P. -1 which was produced before him by the informant. On search of the accused, his identity card P.Q. and employment card P.R. were recovered from his person which were taken into possession vide memo Exh. P.O. The S.I. then went to the place of occurrence, prepared the necessary documents and sent the dead-body for its post-mortem examination. After completing the investigation, the accused was sent up for trial.

3. Fazal Karim accused denied guilt and took up the plea of insanity alleging that at the time of the occurrence, he was of unsound mind. He admitted the recovery of aforementioned documents from him. In defence he produced three witnesses, D.W.1 Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad Cheema, District Excise and Taxation officer, Faisalabad, who had got him medically examined through Medical Superintendent, D . H . Q. , Hospital Faisalabad. vide his report Exh. D.A., the M.S. recommended that the accused be sent to Mental Hospital for examination. D.W. 2 Mr. Sher Ahmad Mekan, City Magistrate, Faisalabad recorded statement Exh. D.H. of Dr. Muhammad Siddique Faridi and sent the accused to the Mental Hospital, Lahore, vide his letter Exh. D.F. and in reply thereto, the Chairman, Board of Certification Government Mental Hospital, Lahore reported that the accused was malingering and was fit to stand the trial. D.W.3 Muhammad Ashraf tried to show that the accused was of unsound mind because he had set fire to a quarter where he had slept and was living in separation from his wife for the last about 10 years. The statement of this witness does not help the accused because there is no ;roof of the fact narrated by the witness. No police report about the fire was ever made. On the face of it, the story put up by the witness is worthless and has rightly been 'rejected by the trial Court.

4. Keeping in view the evidence of the two injured eye-witnesses and of P.W8 Muhammad Iqbal, informant, trial Court came to the conclusion that the prosecution case was satisfactorily proved against appellant. Sole question for determination in this appeal would whether the appellant was insane during the days of the occurrence and was incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that what he was doing was either wrong or contrary to law and thus was he entitled to the benefit of the Exception under section 84, P.P.C. find that trial Court has considered this aspect of the case thoroughly In this respect, the report Exh. P.S. of the Chairman Board of Certification Government Mental Hospital, Lahore, clinches the matter because according to him, the appellant was malingering. This finding is further supported by the fact that the appellant was employed in those days in United Vegetable Oil and Ghee Mills, Faisalabad. He was found in possession of identity card and a job card. Had the appellant been of unsound mind, he would never had been employed in the mill to work with several other persons there. It is thus apparent that the appellant took a false position in order to escape from the consequences of his wilful and deliberate conduct. True, there is no motive for the crime in this case but this per se would not support appellant's plea of insanity. On the other hand, the evidence against him is overwhelming which left no doubt that he was not of unsound mind. Had the deceased survived for a short while, he might have been able to give the reason for the attack on him. Since the prosecution case is silent about the motive of the crime, it is for this reason that the accused has had the benefit of lesser penalty awarded to him. But by no stretch of imagination, it proved that the accused was unsound. The appellant was apprehended at the spot with his weapon of offence. He has not been able to meet the prosecution case. I am satisfied with appellant's guilt. His appeal is therefore, dismissed. He shall however, be entitled to the benefit of section 382 (b), Cr.P.C. The period of detention before trial shall be deducted from the sentence of life imprisonment. M.Y.H. Appeal dismissed.