1972 PLP 572 (SCMR)

ANWARUL HAQ, J.‑By means of this petition for special leave to appeal, Redi Gul, the uncle and father‑in‑law of the murdered man, Muhtaj Gul, seeks to call in question the acquittal of the respondent, Mtan Gul, by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Peshawar, by his order dated the 23rd May 1970. The petitioner's revision petition against the acquittal has been dismissed by a learned Single Judge of the Peshawar High Court by his order dated the 15th of July 1971. The deceased Muhtaj Gul was murdered on the 23rd November 1969, in the premises of the mosque known as the mosque of Sheikh Mallo in village Nis.atta in Tehsil Charsadda of the Peshawar District. The petitioner, Redi Gul claimed to have witnessed the crime. He alleged that the deceased was washing his feet at the Sabeel inside the mosque for joining the congregational prayer for Zubar when the respondent, Mian Gul, entered the mosque, armed with a double barrel gun, and fired at Muhtaj Gul from a distance of a few paces. On being hit the deceased took a few steps towards the verandah of the mosque and fell down dead. The respondent managed to escape. According to Redi Gul the incident was also witnessed by Nisar Muhammad, Awal Khan, Chan Badshab, Akram Khan and Pesh Imam Raza Khan. The matter was reported pat Police Station Prang, a distance of five miles, at 2‑15 p.m. The motive for the crime was stated to be the suspicion of the respondent that the deceased had developed illicit relations with the respondent's wife lust. Tajul Wara. At the trial the respondent pleaded not guilty, sand asserted that he had been falsely implicated by witnesses who were either inimical to him or otherwise related to the deceased‑ Explaining his disappearance from the village until his arrest on the 23rd of December 1969, he stated that he had gone to village Amazi in District Mardan four or five months prior to the occurrence and he voluntarily surrendered on being apprised of his implication in this case. The learned trial Judge acquitted the respondent of the grounds that the motive for the crime was not established by independent and trustworthy evidence, that the ocular witnesses were interested and partisan, that the presence of Redi Gul, Awal Khan, Nisar Muhammad, Chan Badshah was highly doubt ful at the time of the murder, and that the medical evidence was in conflict with the ocular evidence. The High Court has, after discussing the evidence at sortie length, endorsed the conclusions reached by the learned Addi tional Sessions Judge, and accordingly refused to interfere with the acquittal of the respondent. We have scrutinised the evidence with the learned of the learned counsel, and have come to the conclusion that this is not at all a fit case for Interference by this Court. Although the crime is said to have been committed in the premises of the mosque at a time when congregational prayers were in progress, no indepen dent or disinterested witness came forward to support the prosecution. Even the motive was not established beyond a mere assertion by the present petitioner that there was a rumour in the village that the deceased had developed illicit relations with the wife of the respondent. The Pesh Imam of the mosque and Akram Khan were given up by the prosecution on an application having been made by the petitioner that they were inimical to him. The ocular evidence having been found to be interested and partisan, and independent witnesses having refused to depose in support of the prosecution, it was imperative for the trial Court to look for corroboration, but no such corroboration was found to be available. On the contrary, the medical evidence showed that the ocular account was incorrect inasmuch as the eye witnesses had asserted that the deceased had walked 42 feet after being hit, whereas the medical evidence showed that death was instantaneous owing to the heart having been completely destroyed along with its blood vessels. According to the doctor the deceased might have jumped a few feet on receiving the shot, but he could not have walked any appreciable distance to the verandah of the mosque. Another factor which has weighed with the Courts below is that if indeed the relations of the deceased had witnessed the occurrence at such close quarters inside the mosque they would have been able to apprehend the assailant in spit of the fact that he was armed with a gun. The reasons given by the Courts below f4 r acquitting the respondent appear to be sustainable on the record, with the result Oat no justification is made out for our interference in the matter. The petition, therefore, fails and is hereby dismissed. Petition dismissed,