Reliance

Petitioners-convicts were arrested on 14.08.2015 by Investigating Officer, and from the personal search of each one of accused persons, .30 bore pistol was recovered

Similarly, the motorcycle without number plate, allegedly used in the commission of the offence which the petitioners-convicts at the time of arrest were riding, was also taken into possession

In such circumstances, the conviction of the petitioner-convict "F" recorded through the impugned judgment was maintained, however, his death sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life

Conviction and sentence of the remaining petitioners-convicts did not warrant any interference

Petition was converted into an appeal and was partly allowed.

Record showed that the testimonies of three witnesses, while not eye-witnesses, were significant as they confirmed that on July 25, 2021, the deceased went missing

Said witnesses learnt about the discovery of a dead body in the hospital mortuary through the police and subsequently identified the deceased

Evidence regarding the disappearance of minor and the subsequent discovery of his body, as revealed by the star witnesses, had been found to be reliable and trustworthy, with their natural presence at the scene further corroborating their accounts

Additionally, the statement of Medical Officer, the Police Surgeon, along with the post-mortem report of deceased and the Medico-Legal Certificates of the accusedand co-accused provided critical insights

Police Surgeon opined that the deceased had been subjected to forcible carnal intercourse and subsequently murdered with a blunt weapon

Furthermore, Medical Officer confirmed that accused could perform sexual intercourse and was medically potent

Testimonies of the remaining witnesses and the DNA result and its conclusion, showed that seminal material was found on anal swab of deceased, stained sections taken from shalwar qameez of deceased, and human blood was identified on stained sections taken from shalwar of appellant

DNA profile obtained from sperm fractions of items Nos. 1, 4.1, 4.5, 4.10, epithelial of item Nos. 1 and 4.5 matched the DNA of appellant

Probability of finding an unrelated individual at random from the population as being the source of DNA obtained from sperm fraction of item Nos. 1, 4.1, 4.5, 4.10, epithelial fractions of item Nos. 1 and 4.5 was approximately one in 64 sextillion in caucasians

Evidence presented collectively supported the prosecution's case, establishing a coherent chain of circumstantial evidence that remained intact

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances, however, the revision petition filed by the complainant for enhancement of sentence was allowed by enhancing the sentence from life imprisonment to capital punishment of death.

Accused were charged for committing murder of the brother of complainant by firing and also causing firearm injuries to the complainant and a passerby

Undeniably, both of the eye-witnesses of the occurrence were related to the deceased, but merely for that reasons they could not be termed as interested' witnesses

Term 'related' was not equivalent to 'interested'

Witness may be called 'interested' only when, he or she derives some benefit in seeing an accused person punished

Witness, who is a natural one and is the only possible eye-witness in the circumstances of the case, cannot be said to be 'interested'

In the present case, one of the injured eye-witnesses was complainant and he was brother of deceased, who had not only proved his presence, but his testimony was consistent

Said witness had cogently described the manner of commission of the crime in detail, thus the testimony of an eye-witness, who had received injuries carried more evidentiary value

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved the indictment to the hilt without any glimpse of doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, accordingly.

However, a related witness became an interested witness when his evidence was tainted with malice, was indicating a desire to implicate the accused by fabricating and concocting evidence

Defence could not point out any plausible reason as to why the complainant and eye-witnesses had falsely implicated the appellant in the present case and let off the real culprit, who had committed the murder of their relative

Substitution in such like cases was a rare phenomenon

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully proved its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt, however, due to mitigating circumstances, the sentence of death awarded to the appellant was altered to imprisonment for life

Appeal against conviction was dismissed with said modification in sentence.

Record showed that blood stained clothes, blood-stained earth and three bullet empties of pistol were recovered, which were taken into possession from the place of occurrence by the Investigation Officer, in the presence of the witnesses, who prepared the parcels and sent the same to the Forensic Science Laboratory and he received reports according to which three empties present in parcel No.2 were of 30 bore pistol and that the suspect blood stained articles were stained with human blood

Said recoveries had been duly proved through recovery witnesses and nothing adverse could be achieved despite cross-examination by the defense

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully proved its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt, however, due to mitigating circumstances, the sentence of death awarded to the appellant was altered to imprisonment for life

Appeal against conviction was dismissed with said modification in sentence.

Qatl-i-amd, house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint, assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, criminal intimidation

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of crime empty from the spot

Reliance

Accused was charged for committing murder of the sister of complainant by firing

Evidently, no spent bullet was recovered and no bullet mark was noted on the walls of the house, but as two empties were recovered from the spot and two injuries were received by the deceased, so the circumstances told that the appellant fired two fire shots

Collected empties were sent to the Firearms Expert to ascertain that from how many weapons the same were fired

After examining the same a comprehensive report was received, telling that the same were fired from one weapon

As single accused was charged and as it was he who fired at the deceased, so the laboratory report had supported the prosecution case to a great extent

True that laboratory report was supportive in nature, but equally true that once veracity of the witness was not shattered, then that piece of evidence could be taken into consideration and as such considered

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Investigating Officer explained that when he visited the Police-Post, after doing the needful, a witness produced the service rifle of the appellant, along with a 30 bore pistol and he sent the same to the Firearms Expert to ascertain as to whether the empties were fired from the collected weapons

Record told that the 7.62 bore crime empty was found matched with the service rifle of the appellant

Said piece of evidence could not be disbelieved, as the weapon was issued to the appellant and that the same was produced by a witness, who was posted in the same Police-Post

As the empty was collected from the spot and so the service rifle of the appellant, so it could not be doubted that it was the appellant who used his service rifle to fire at the deceased and the laboratory report had substantiated the claim of the complainant

Appeal to the extent of the appellant "SR" was partially allowed and instead he was convicted and sentenced under S.302(b), P.P.C. to life imprisonment and the remaining portion of the judgment to his way extent was left intact.

It was transparent from the record that neither during the investigation nor during the trial an iota of evidence surfaced which could prima facie speak of any ill-will or mala fide on part of the star witnesses of the prosecution which could strike a prudent mind as to depose falsely against the accused/appellant for their vested interest

Moreover, mere relationship of witnesses with deceased per se would not render them interested or partisan witnesses

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused beyond shadow of doubt, however due to some mitigating circumstances, the sentence of life imprisonment was reduced to imprisonment for ten years

With said modification in sentence, the appeal was partly allowed.

In the present case, there was circumstantial evidence in the form of recovery of blood stained earth, crime empties of 7.62 bore from the spot and weapon of offence i.e. Kalashnikov, on the pointation of the accused/appellant coupled with positive Forensic Science Laboratory Report, therefore, the circumstantial evidence was also in line with the version of the prosecution

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused beyond shadow of doubt, however due to some mitigating circumstances, the sentence of life imprisonment was reduced to imprisonment for ten years

With said modification in sentence, the appeal was partly allowed.

Accused-appellants were charged for committing murder of the father of complainant and causing injuries to the complainant and his brother through sticks and pickaxe blows

Complainant and other alleged eye-witness were real sons of the deceased

Likewise, injured witness was close relative of complainant-party

However, mere relationship between witnesses and deceased would not be sufficient to damage their evidence altogether

Relationship by itself is no ground to discard and discredit testimony of eye-witnesses unless they are shown to be partisan and interested witnesses

If it is established on record that a witness has a motive to implicate an accused person falsely in a case, then in such situation independent corroboration may be sought from other evidence

In the present case, there was nothing on record to suggest any previous blood feud or other bitterness of serious nature between the parties, except previous motive of land dispute, hence, the eye-witnesses had no motive for false implication of present appellants

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Record indicated that during the spot investigation, the appellant retrieved a dupatta from beneath the mattress on his bed and presented it to the Investigating Officer

Appellant claimed that he had used that dupatta to strangle the deceased

Said act of handing over the dupatta was documented in the recovery memo

Notably, that revelation was made by the appellant for the first time during the identification process

Complainant stated that during his initial examination of the deceased, there was neither a dupatta nor any rope found around her neck

Said fact suggested that the appellant had concealed the dupatta beneath the foam mattress, an indication of his awareness of the evidence's significance and his attempt to hide it

Furthermore, Constable/recovery witness corroborated the recovery of the dupatta and his testimony, during cross-examination, remained intact and unchallenged, lending credibility to the prosecution's case

Prosecution effectively demonstrated that the information provided by the appellant directly led to the discovery of the crucial evidence; that he had strangled his wife using her dupatta

Importantly, that detail was not known to the police from any other source prior to that confession, making the appellant's statement pivotal

Therefore, the recovery of the dupatta, identified as the instrument used for strangulation, could be considered as legitimate evidence under Art.40 of the Qanun-e-Shahdat

In this case, the appellant's own disclosure significantly contributed to the establishment of his guilt

Overall, the evidence supported the claim that the appellant had a direct role in the murder of his wife, and the recovered dupatta served as compelling physical evidence of that act

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, accordingly.

Qatl-i-amd, kidnapping, causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offenders, abetment, common intention

Appreciation of evidence

Last seen evidence

Reliance

Accused was charged that she along with her co-accused committed murder of the son of complainant

In the case in hand, two prosecution witnesses had seen the appellant and acquitted co-accused, when deceased had left with them from a hotel, on 21.06.2019 at evening time; the case qua his missing was registered on 23.06.2019; on the statement of his father and on the very next day i.e. 24.06.2019; appellant was implicated in this case and on 25.06.2019, she got recovered the dead body from her house that was also situated in G-(Gujrat) city

Meaning thereby that last seen evidence also qualified the test of not only the proximity of time but also of the distance/space, therefore, there was no occasion to discard the same on any hypothesis and the last seen evidence was sufficiently corroborated by the recovery of dead body at the instance of the appellant, which itself carried a huge evidentiary value and was a strong piece of evidence to prove the guilt of the appellant

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

However, the same could not be relied upon as the Investigating Officer of the case did not join any witness of the locality during the recovery of the pistol from the appellant which was in clear violation of S.103, Cr.P.C

Provisions of S.103, Cr.P.C, unfortunately, were honoured more in disuse than compliance

Therefore, the evidence of the recovery of the pistol from the appellant could not be used as incriminating evidence against the appellant, being evidence that was obtained through illegal means and hence hit by the exclusionary rule of evidence

Appeal against conviction was allowed, in circumstances.

Weapon of offence i.e., knife with handle length of 4 inches and blade length of 6 inches, like a Bowie knife, which usually had a blade-length of 5-12 inches, stood recovered on the lead of accused/ appellant on 08.04.2020, stained in blood

Report of Forensic Science Agency confirmed the presence of human blood over it

Therefore, said evidence supported the prosecution version that injuries were caused with knife

Circumstances established that the prosecution remained fully successful in proving the guilt of accused/appellant beyond reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, accordingly.

Record showed that a pistol 30 bore was recovered from the possession of appellant and positive report of the Forensic Science Agency was there

However, the same were not helpful to the prosecution because while effecting the said recovery from the appellant, the Investigation Officer had flagrantly violated the mandatory provisions of S.103, Cr.P.C., as no independent person was associated during the said recovery proceedings

Circumstances established that the prosecution otherwise proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt, however, due to some mitigating circumstances, death sentence was altered to imprisonment for life

With said modification in sentence, appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Much emphasis had been laid by defence that complainant and eye-witness were closely related to the deceased and for the said reason, their evidence was not reliable

In this regard, mere relationship of eye-witnesses with the deceased by itself was no ground to disbelieve their evidence

Even otherwise, evidence of said witnesses was trustworthy and confidence inspiring which could not be discarded merely on the basis of their relationship with the deceased especially when they had no animosity with the appellant

Similarly, due to close and blood relation of eye-witnesses with deceased, said witnesses were in fact not likely to let off the actual perpetrator of the offence by falsely implicating the appellant, against whom they admittedly had no previous malice, ill-will, animosity or grudge

Moreover, substitution of real culprits especially in cases where the eye-witnesses lost their kith and kin before their own eyes was a rare phenomenon

Circumstances established that the prosecution proved its case beyond any shadow of doubt, however, due to some mitigating circumstances, death sentence was altered to imprisonment for life

With said modification in sentence, appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Qatl-i-amd, attempt to commit qal-i-amd, ghayr-jaifah-mutalahimah, causing hurt, rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of weapon of offence from accused and crime empties from the spot

Reliance

Scope

Accused were charged for assaulting complainant party, due to which one person died whereas three sustained firearm injuries

Record reflected that Investigating Officer collected the empties of cartridges from the spot on 14.07.2015

Accused/appellant was subsequently arrested on 09.11.2015, whereas the spent shells had already been forwarded to the Forensic Science Agency on 19.08.2015, well before his arrest

Recovery of the repeater gun from the accused/appellant was effected on 18.11.2015 and the said weapon was sent to the Forensic Science Agency on 22.12.2015

Forensic Science Agency Report was received as positive in that regard which provided a corroboration to ocular account

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Witness who is found to have deposed falsely on any material aspect of the case cannot be deemed credible with respect to any other portion of his testimony, as the presumption of veracity stands extinguished once the witness is shown to be capable of perjury

Law does not countenance partial or selective reliance upon the testimony of such a witness.

Accused-appellant was charged that he along with his co-accused committed murder of the nephew of complainant by firing and caused firearm injuries to complainant

Record showed that 02 empties and blood stained earth was recovered from the place of incident

Subsequently, on 17.05.2008, appellant took the police to his house from where the double barrel gun he used was recovered

Gun together with the empties were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, which opined that the empties were of cartridges fired from the recovered gun

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused-appellant, however, due to some extenuating circumstances, life imprisonment was reduced to imprisonment for ten years

With said reduction in sentence, the appeal was dismissed.

Attempt to commit qatl-i-amd, use of criminal force or assault on public servant while he is performing his duty, obstructing a public servant in the performance of their duties, common intention, possession of illicit weapon, act of terrorism

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of weapon of offence

Reliance

Scope

Accused was charged that he made firing upon the police party; in retaliation police also made firing due to which appellant sustained firearm injury and was apprehended at the spot

Record showed that 30 bore pistol allegedly recovered from the appellant was, in fact, the very weapon used in the commission of the offence

On that premise, the Trial Court upheld the applicability of S.353, P.P.C and 23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013

Insofar as S.324, P.P.C was concerned, it was observed that the offence was constituted not merely by the resultant injury, but by the existence of the requisite mens rea to commit qatl-i-amd coupled with an overt act in furtherance thereof

Prosecution case was that the appellant, upon being signaled to stop, opened direct fire upon the police party and, during the ensuing exchange, sustained a firearm injury on his right leg, while crime empties were secured from the spot

Prosecution witnesses had remained consistent on the essential features of the occurrence, namely, the alleged firing by the appellant, the encounter, his injury, apprehension at the spot and the recovery of the unlicensed weapon from his possession

Certain discrepancies were highlighted by the defence with respect to peripheral details

However, upon independent scrutiny of the record, such inconsistencies could be treated as minor in nature, not going to the root of the case, and insufficient to dislodge the prosecution version regarding the occurrence, arrest and alleged recovery

Such discrepancies did not materially impair the evidentiary substratum of the prosecution case

Thus, convictions under S.353 P.P.C and S.23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013 were maintained

Appeal was disposed of, accordingly.

Outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, dacoity or robbery committed by five or more persons, gang rape, abettor present when the offense was committed, criminal intimidation, insulting the modesty of a woman or causing sexual harassment, extortion, sexual abuse and trafficking of children, dishonest receipt or retention of property stolen during a dacoity, common intention

Appreciation of evidence

Statements of victims

Reliance

Scope

Accused were charged for detaining a girl and a boy in an apartment while forcibly stripping them off their clothes, extending life threats and committing obscene acts with the two victims

Both the victims got recorded their statements under S.164 Cr.P.C; the statement of victim was recorded by Assistant Commissioner and other victim's statement was recorded by Sub-Divisional Magistrate

Both the victims provided each and every detail and description of the occurrence of the crime, the time, mode and manner in which each of the appellants had committed the crime along with the specific role of each appellant in detail

Both those statements were recorded by Magistrates who were also cross-examined at length on different technical aspects and nothing fruitful was achieved by the defence

Both the Magistrates while recording the statements observed the binding procedure with precaution in terms of S.364, Cr.P.C., read with S.164, Cr.P.C., and S.14 of Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021

In the present case, the requirements under S.164, Cr.P.C., viz a viz S.14 of Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021, were complied with, therefore statements of both the victims would be considered final and conclusive against the appellants

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Outraging the modesty of a woman, wrongful confinement, dacoity or robbery committed by five or more persons, gang rape, abettor present when the offense was committed, criminal intimidation, insulting the modesty of a woman or causing sexual harassment, extortion, sexual abuse and trafficking of children, dishonest receipt or retention of property stolen during a dacoity, common intention

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of incriminating articles

Reliance

Scope

Accused were charged for detaining a girl and a boy in an apartment while forcibly stripping them off their clothes, extending life threats and committing obscene acts with the two victims

In the present case, the recovered items, as seen in the video evidence from the place of occurrence, including a painting, decoration piece, and a piece of rug, were taken into possession by the Investigation Officer in the presence of witnesses

Said recovered articles were duly seen in the videos and rightly collected by the Investigating Officer for the purposes of confirmation of the place of occurrence

Another piece of evidence was the shirt of the victim and sweater of the other victim worn by them at the time of incident, collected through recovery memo. as seen in the videos

Said piece of evidence also had to be seen in corroboration with the primary evidence of the captured video along with the photogrammetry test and audio recognition of the appellants

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Recovery of weapon of offence i.e. 30 bore pistol on the pointation of the accused fully linked the accused with the commission of alleged offence

Police also recovered two crime empties inside the car which was also in line with prosecution version

As per the report of Chemical Examiner the recovered crime empties were identified to have been fired from the weapon of offence which was found in operating condition with safety features functioning properly

Thus, the recovery of weapon of offence and the report of Chemical Examiner also strengthened the case of the prosecution

Recovery witnesses confirmed the recovery of weapon of offence on the pointation of accused, and crime empties by the police from the place of occurrence, and remained stable during cross-examination as the defence failed to shake the credibility of the witnesses of recovery which was also a supporting evidence of prosecution

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the accused

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, accordingly.

Recovery of weapon of offence on the pointation of accused had been substantiated from the statements of recovery witnesses who also remained stable during cross-examination and the defence failed to shake their credibility

Forensic Science Laboratory report showed that the angle of striking was same on C&T the dimension of the dip was same on C&T identical breach face marks were on C&T cut mark inside the dip was same on C&T dent mark inside the dip was same on C&T

Thus, the recovery of weapon of offence on the instance of convict was also established

Defence counsel alleged that in the remand form produced by Investigating Agency before the Court for obtaining remand, it was mentioned that till 01.08.1997 the recovery of weapon of offence was not affected, hence the alleged recovery on 31.07.1997 was maneuvered

However, merely on an irregularity or mistake in the dates on the remand form and the recovery memo, the recovery of weapon of offence could not be declared as fictitious particularly in case of direct evidence where nisab of Shahadat was also available

Moreover, when the Chemical Examiner had reported that the recovered empty from the place of occurrence was fired from the recovered weapon of offence

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Qatl-i-amd, voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery, wrongful restrain, causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen defenders, destruction of document to prevent its production as evidence, abetment, common intention, harabbah, possession of illicit weapon

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of weapon of offence and crime empties

Reliance

Scope

Accused were charged for committing murder of the husband of complainant by firing during robbery

According to the prosecution's narrative, convict fired two shots at the victim, one striking the head and the other hitting the ribs, exiting through the abdomen and injuring other accused

Meanwhile, injured convict allegedly fired one shot at the victim, hitting him in the right arm

Three bullets in total were reportedly discharged during the incident

Furthermore, two thirty-bore pistols were recovered on the pointation of the convicts

Examiner analyzed evidence submitted in connection with the case involving two pistols, a bullet, and three cartridges

Pistols were recovered from accused persons, both of which were found to be in working condition with their safety features intact

Analysis revealed that cartridge cases were fired from injured accused's pistol

While, none of the bullet empty was found to have been fired from other accused's pistol

Findings of the Forensic Science Laboratory Report highlighted notable discrepancies in the prosecution's narrative

Allegedly, injured accused fired one shot and other accused fired two gunshots

However, the forensic evidence indicated that two shots were fired from injured accused's pistol, whereas no shot was fired from other accused's pistol

Such discrepancy raised questions about the accuracy of the prosecution's claims

Despite those inconsistencies, there was still supporting evidence, such as the recovery of the pistols from both individuals and the presence of empties at the crime scene which aligned partially with the events described

Contradictions in the Forensic Science Laboratory findings somehow weakened the prosecution's story

As a result, the benefit of doubt should favour the accused as a mitigating factor, entitling them to a reduction in their sentences

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case, however due to some mitigating circumstance, the sentence of 25 years awarded to each accused was reduced to 14 years

Appeal was partially allowed with said modification in sentence.

Qatl-i-amd, voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery, wrongful restrain, causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen defenders, destruction of document to prevent its production as evidence, abetment, common intention, harabbah, possession of illicit weapon

Appreciation of evidence

Related witnesses, evidence of

Reliance

Scope

Accused were charged for committing murder of the husband of complainant by firing during robbery

Alleged by defence that all the witnesses cited by the prosecution were close relatives of the complainant, and no independent or impartial witnesses were included

Mere relationship of a witness with the complainant did not render his testimony unreliable or unworthy of consideration

Testimony of a witness could only be discredited if it was proven that the witness harbored animosity or malice towards the accused giving rise to a motive for false implication

In the present case, the defense had failed to present any evidence or proof demonstrating that the witnesses were inimical or bore ill will towards the accused

In absence of such evidence, the credibility of witness remained intact

Thus, said stance of defense could not form a basis for rejecting the evidence presented by the prosecution

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case, however due to some mitigating circumstance, the sentence of 25 years awarded to each accused was reduced to 14 years

Appeal was partially allowed with said modification in sentence.

Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint, robbery, haraabah, possession of illegal weapon

Appreciation of evidence

Non-association of private witnesses

Inconsequential

Police witnesses, evidence of

Reliance

Accused was charged that he along with his co-accused entered into the house of complainant and robbed different articles on gun point

Allegedly, the police did not associate any independent witness during the course of recovery proceedings from accused which was a violation of the provisions of S.103 Cr.P.C.

However, non-compliance of said provision did not factually undermine the prosecution case

Courts have consistently laid down the principle of law regarding the competency of the Police Officials as witnesses and emphasized that their testimonies should not be discarded solely due to their affiliation with the police force

Furthermore, the defense had failed to point out any enmity or prejudice of police or any witness against the convict-appellant

Generally, the public remain reluctant to get involved because of having no direct grievance against the accused and because of lack of security and protection for witnesses

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellant beyond shadow of doubt, however, due to mitigating circumstances, the appellant's sentence of seven years was reduced to the period already served

Appeal was partly allowed with said modification in sentence.

Allegations against the accused-petitioners were that they committed murder of the brother-in-law of complainant by firing during robbery

On 25.04.2016, on the disclosure and pointation of petitioner "TU", a 30 bore pistol used in the commission of the offence was recovered and taken into possession by the Investigating Officer through recovery memo

On 01.04.2016, three empties of .30 bore had been taken into possession by the Investigating Officer from the crime scene and secured through recovery memo and then deposited with the Moharrir of the Police Station for safe custody in the Malkhana

On 04.04.2016, these empties were sent to the National Forensic Science Agency for analysis

After recovery of 30 bore pistol on 25.04.2016, it was also sent to the relevant forensic laboratory and as per report of the National Forensic Science Agency, the recovered empties were fired through the pistol recovered on the pointation of petitioner "TU"

Chain of custody, from the recovery of the empties and the pistol to their forensic examination, appeared to have been maintained in accordance with the principles of safe and secure evidence handling

Collective assessment of the ocular evidence, recovery of the weapon, positive identification in the test parade, and the forensic confirmation of ballistic evidence left little room for doubt regarding the culpability of the petitioners

Sequence of events and consistency of testimonies established a coherent and credible chain of circumstantial and direct evidence, sufficient to uphold the findings of guilt recorded by the Courts below

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved its case against the petitioners beyond any shadow of doubt, however due to some extenuating/mitigating circumstance in the matter of sentence, the instant petition to the extent of petitioner "TU", was converted into an appeal and was partly allowed in the terms that his conviction under Section 302(b), P.P.C., was maintained, however, the sentence of death awarded to him was commuted to rigorous imprisonment for life

As regards conviction and sentence of petitioner "SK", no ground was found for interference in the impugned judgment

Petition to the extent of petitioner "SK" was therefore, dismissed and leave to appeal was refused.

Record showed that the empties and pistol were deposited together to the office of Forensic Science Laboratory on 01.02.2019

Under the circumstances, it was not safe to rely upon the prosecution evidence qua the recovery of pistol and positive report of Forensic Science Laboratory

Circumstances established that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the appellant beyond the shadow of doubt

Appeal against conviction was allowed, accordingly.

Complainant was real brother of the deceased, whereas witness was brother-in-law of the complainant, as such, their presence in the house of deceased and the appellant at the time of occurrence could not be doubted nor their evidence could be discredited due to their relationship with the deceased being cogent and confidence inspiring

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

There were, however, certain deficiencies in the recovery proceedings as well as the claim that the recovered sota was actually linked to the appellant

Foremost amongst those flaws was that the sota was recovered from an open and public place, i.e. an empty plot adjacent to the deceased/complainant's home

Complainant's cross-examination also highlighted that the spot from where the sota was recovered happened to be a public thoroughfare

Established doubtfulness of that recovery undermined the prosecution case

Undeniable fact that the crime weapon, i.e. the sota, was recovered from an open place accessible to all, which made it unsafe to place reliance upon such recovery

Police neither claimed that the recovered weapon, the sota, was covered in the deceased's blood nor was the sota subjected to any chemical or serologist examination for traces of human blood

In the absence of such testing, the weapon recovered by the police did not advance the prosecution case

Appeal against conviction was allowed, in circumstances.

Qatl-i-amd, attempt to commit qatl-i-amd, rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, possessing illicit weapon

Reappraisal of evidence

Related witnesses, evidence of

Reliance

Accused were charged for committing murder of the brother of complainant and causing firearm injuries to injured witness

Admittedly, the complainant and injured were real brothers of the deceased but their mere relationship with the deceased was not a sufficient ground for discarding their testimony, especially in the absence of any established animus or motive for false implication

Substitution of the actual perpetrator in place of an innocent individual particularly where close relatives are killed in the presence of family members is an improbable proposition and found consistent affirmation in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court

In the absence of any mala fide intent or ulterior motive to falsely implicate the appellant, the testimony of the eye-witnesses being confidence inspiring and having remained consistent throughout could not be discredited merely on the basis of their relationship with the deceased

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder against the accused

As regards the injury caused to injured, the specific role of firing at injured was attributed to the absconding co-accused

Therefore, the conviction of the accused under Section 324, P.P.C., was not sustainable in law, thus was set-aside

Appeal was partly allowed.

Qatl-i-amd, attempt to commit qatl-i-amd, dishonest misappropriation of property possessed by deceased person at the time of his death, mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees, shajjah-i-khafifah, ghayr-jaifah-damiyah, ghayr-jaifah-mutalahimah, ghayr-jaifah-hashimah, rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly

Re-appraisal of evidence

Injured witness, evidence of

Reliance

Accused were charged for committing murder of four persons of the complainant party and causing injuries to the three persons

According to the complainant and his Medico-Legal Certificate, during the occurrence, he had received firearm injuries on both his feet

According to injured witness and his Medico-Legal Certificate, he had received firearm injuries on his right forearm, his right thigh and his left hip

Mere stamp of a firearm injury on the person of a prosecution witness did not per se tantamount to a stamp of credence on his testimony

Appeal against conviction was allowed, in circumstances.

Interested witness is one who is motivated by some extraneous consideration or harbors an ulterior motive to falsely implicate an accused

In the instant case, the defence had not been able to bring on record any such motive that could suggest a false implication of the appellant

In the absence of any tangible material indicating enmity, malice, or ill-will, the testimony of related witnesses could not be discarded solely on the ground of relationship

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully established the guilt of the appellant beyond shadow of reasonable doubt

Appeal was dismissed accordingly.

Qatl-i-amd, attempt to commit qatl-i-amd, rioting, rioting armed with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, act of terrorism

Appreciation of evidence

Related and interested witnesses, evidence of

Reliance

Accused were charged that they made firing upon the complainant party, due to which two persons died and many others including Police Officials sustained firearm injuries

In the present case, some eye-witnesses were related to the deceased but mere relationship was no ground to discard their straight forward and confidence inspiring evidence especially when their presence at the spot had been established

Statement of a witness could not be discarded solely on the plea that he was related to the deceased

An interested witness was a person who had a motive to falsely implicate a person

Moreover, the testimonies of eye-witnesses was not tainted or they had any motive to falsely implicate the appellants

No plausible reasons had been established by the defence to indicate why the complainant and other eye-witnesses would substitute the appellants by leaving the real culprits

Testimony of the complainant and eye-witnesses were convincing one and thus they were rightly believed by the Trial Court

Circumstances established that the prosecution had been able to prove its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, however the judgment passed by the Trial Court to the extent of S.7(1)(a), (b) & (g) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, was set aside being not proved

Consequently, with the said modification, the appeal against conviction filed by the appellants was dismissed, accordingly.

Qatl-i-amd, attempt to commit qatl-i-amd, robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt, abetment, common intention

Appreciation of evidence

Recovery of incriminating material

Reliance

Accused were charged for committing robbery and causing deadly injuries to the injured, who later succumbed to injuries

Recovery of the vehicle, and motorcycle used in the commission of offence as well as weapon of offence on the pointation of appellants served as a significant pieces of circumstantial evidence

Said recoveries not only corroborated the dying declaration but also established a direct link between the appellants and the crime, as it demonstrated their involvement in the act of snatching the vehicle, which was integral to the murder charge

In this case, the circumstantial evidence, when viewed in its entirety, formed a coherent narrative that supported the prosecution's case

Circumstances established that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed, in circumstances.

Appellant got recorded his inculpatory confessional statement before Judicial Magistrate, who testified to have complied with all codal formalities required for recording a voluntary and true confession

Judicial Magistrate produced sealed envelope, confessional statement of appellant and the relevant certificate

Testimony of Judicial Magistrate could not be discredited by the defence despite questioning him regarding the mode and procedure and the statement recorded due to undue pressure

Appellant confessed that he along with other appellant and his brother went to deceased

Accused further confessed that as he parked his motorcycle, other accused made fires at deceased on his head, whereby he died on the spot, upon which he asked other accused as to why he did so; whereon other accused aimed pistol at him and threatened him of dire consequence, thus, he kept mum, whereafter other accused took out money and pistol from the pocket of deceased and told him to help him in disposing of the dead body, whereafter accused tied the hands of deceased with a chaddar, and both of them dragged the dead body and threw it into the ditch

While confessing, accused also revealed that other accused gave him motorcycle of the deceased to sell, which he sold out for Rs. 20,000/- and returned back, whereafter he was arrested by the Levies Officials

In view of the statement recorded by Judicial Magistrate, the confessional statement seemed to have been recorded in accordance with law, which was not only voluntary, but true as well, which was evident from the fact that confessional statement coincided with the disclosure, recovery of the bloodstained articles, recovery of dead body and place of occurrence, substantially proving the guilt of the appellants

Confessional statement in hand not only incriminated appellant, but by all means involved other appellant under Art.43 of Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984, as a circumstantial evidence

Appeal against conviction filed by accused "O" was dismissed, in circumstances

Whereas, the appeal filed by appellant "L" was partially allowed and consequently his conviction and sentence recorded under S.302(b), P.P.C was set aside and instead he was convicted and sentenced under S.201, P.P.C to suffer seven year's imprisonment.

Appellant in consequence of the disclosure led the Levies Personel to his house and got recovered the crime weapon i.e., T.T Pistol with a magazine having four live rounds and cash amount of Rs.175,000/- hidden between the blanket in his room, which was secured through recovery memo

Furthermore, on the same date other appellant in consequence of his disclosure led the police and got recovered pistol with a magazine having six live rounds from the trunk lying in the room of his house, which he had taken from the deceased after his murder

Such recoveries made in consequence of disclosures had successfully been proved, which were admissible and had relevance under Art.40 of Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984

Appeal against conviction filed by accused "O" was dismissed, in circumstances

Whereas, the appeal filed by appellant "L" was partially allowed and consequently his conviction and sentence recorded under S.302(b), P.P.C was set aside and instead he was convicted and sentenced under Section 201 P.P.C to suffer seven year's imprisonment.

Adverting to the recovery of dead body and blood stained articles on the pointation of appellant, the testimony of recovery witness was crucial

Said witness was witness to the recovery of dead body of deceased, which was lying in a ditch, and was recovered on the pointation of appellant in consequence of disclosure made on 23.09.2020 regarding committing murder of the deceased with a pistol, which was secured through recovery memo

According to said witness, after committing murder of the deceased accused along with co-culprit in order to dispose of the body, tied the hand of deceased with the chaddar and threw it into the ditch

Said witness further deposed that on the same day, Levies Officials secured blood stained soil, stone, an empty of T.T Pistol as well as a bullet lead coupled with chaddar stained with blood through recovery memo. from the crime scene

Recovery witness identified his signature on both the recovery memos

Despite questioning said witness from various angles, he remained firm and consistent to his deposition

Bloodstained articles were found to be of human blood, whereof positive Forensic Science Laboratory Report was produced

Appeal against conviction filed by accused "O" was dismissed, in circumstances

Whereas, the appeal filed by appellant "L" was partially allowed and consequently his conviction and sentence recorded under S.302(b), P.P.C, was set aside and instead he was convicted and sentenced under Section 201 P.P.C to suffer seven year's imprisonment.

Evidence on record demonstrated that although appellant "L" had no direct intention or involvement in the murder of the deceased, but he had played an active role by removing and disposing of the dead body, selling the motorcycle of the deceased, causing disappearance of evidence of murder and intentionally omitting to give information of the murder to the law enforcement authority, which he was legally bound to do, thus, he was liable to be convicted and sentenced accordingly

Thus, the appeal filed by appellant "L" was partially allowed and consequently his conviction and sentence recorded under Section 302 (b) P.P.C was set aside and instead he was convicted and sentenced under Section 201 P.P.C to suffer seven year's imprisonment

Whereas, the appeal filed by accused "O" was dismissed.

However, a related witness would become an interested witness when his evidence was tainted with malice, and it showed that he was desirous of implicating the accused by fabricating and concocting evidence.

Accused was charged for making firing upon the brother of complainant and his friend, due to which brother of complainant died

Besides the crime empties, the weapon of the offence i.e. pistol, was also recovered from the possession of the appellant

Crime empties and the pistol were sent to a Firearms Expert who examined the same and according to the report of Firearm Expert, the nine crime empties of 9mm pistol had been fired from the 9mm pistol present in the parcel

Investigation Officer also took the blood-stained earth, blood-stained clothes of the deceased and injured into possession through recovery memo. in the presence of witnesses and parcels of the same were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory and the report in that behalf was positive

Said recoveries had been duly proved through the recovery witnesses and nothing adverse could be achieved despite lengthy cross-examination

Circumstances established that the prosecution had been successful to prove its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed accordingly.

Petitioner No. 2 recorded his extra judicial confession by confessing his guilt and stated that he was married with petitioner No. 1 and were residing in a rented house at "H"; that since there was no labour work etc. thus he contacted petitioner No. 3, who was at "Q" who advised him for shifting to "Q"; that since out of their wedlock no child was born, thus they decided to abduct a child and thereafter shift to "Q" and ultimately they abducted the minor and shifted to "Q", where they also disclosed about the abduction of child to petitioner No. 3, whereafter the police came, recovered the child and arrested them

Police Official also confirmed that in his presence the petitioner No. 1 recorded her extra judicial confession by confessing her guilt of abduction of minor, bringing the child to "Q" and their arrest by the police and recovery of the minor from their possession

Comparison of extra judicial confession of petitioners confirmed that they recorded their statements in line with each other

Petitioners had failed to point out any misreading and non-reading of evidence and major contradiction in the statements of witnesses or any material illegality or irregularity in the impugned judgments, warranting interference by the Court

Petition being devoid of merits was dismissed, in circumstances.

Under Arts.37 to 39 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984, a confession made by an accused, while he is in police custody, is not admissible

However, if something related to the case is recovered or any fact is discovered in consequence of the information conveyed by the accused person, then the information so received will be admissible in evidence within the purview of Art.40 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984, because the presumption will be towards its truthfulness

Petitioners had failed to point out any misreading and non-reading of evidence and major contradiction in the statements of witnesses or any material illegality or irregularity in the impugned judgments, warranting interference by the Court

Petition being devoid of merits was dismissed, in circumstances.

Record showed that the recovery of blood-stained earth and blood-stained clothes of the deceased and injured had also been affected

Said articles were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory and the Forensic Science Laboratory Report in that regard was positive, which was available on record

Circumstances established that the prosecution had been successful in proving its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt

However, due to some mitigating circumstances, death sentence was altered to imprisonment for life

Appeal was dismissed with the said modification in the sentence.

However, a related witness would become an interested witness when his evidence was tainted with malice, and it showed that he was desirous of implicating the accused by fabricating and concocting evidence, but in the present case appellant could not show anything in that regard

Evidence of an eye-witness who was a near relative of the victim should be closely scrutinized

Appellant could not point out any plausible reason as to why the complainant and witnesses had falsely involved the appellant in the present case and let off the real culprit, who had committed the murder of her husband

Substitution in such like cases was a rare phenomenon

Circumstances established that the prosecution had been successful in proving its case against the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt

However, due to some mitigating circumstances, death sentence was altered to imprisonment for life

Appeal was dismissed with the said modification in the sentence.

Statements of closely related witnesses of the complainant or deceased could not be discarded from consideration solely on such ground

Witnesses had been found entirely independent and truthful in the present case, therefore, their testimony without looking for any other corroborative evidence, would alone be sufficient to establish the charge

Evidence of related witnesses, who were not found inimical, and their evidence was confidence-inspiring would hardly need any corroboration

Complainant was real brother of the deceased, while eye-witness was the son of deceased

Parties were known to each other previously, being residents of same vicinity, thus the question of mistaken identity of the real culprits did not arise

It was hard to believe that both witnesses would substitute the appellant for the real culprits, who had committed murder of their deceased brother and father, respectively

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully proved the charge against the appellant beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed accordingly.

Case of prosecution had been strengthened from the recovery of crime weapon i.e. axe from the possession of appellant on the day of occurrence

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully proved the charge against the appellant beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed accordingly.

Undoubtedly, son of deceased was a minor, but his examination in chief and the replies of questions during cross-examination transpired that he was mentally mature and fit to answer the questions correctly and even during cross-examination he replied the questions correctly, which established the soundness of his mind and his statement could not be thrown aside merely on the ground of his minor age of 12/13 years rather his statement above alone enough to establish the charge against the culprit

Even otherwise, there was nothing on record showing that this witness was tutored by his elders

Rule of prudence required that the testimony of child witness should not be relied upon unless it was corroborated by some cogent evidence on the record

However, in the case in hand the statement of child witness had fully been corroborated by the direct evidence of complainant and a witness as well as the medical evidence

Thus, nothing adverse had come on record to disbelieve the evidence of said minor witness

Circumstances established that the prosecution had successfully proved the charge against the appellant beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt

Appeal against conviction was dismissed accordingly.

Mere relationship of the prosecution witnesses with the deceased could not be a ground to discard the testimony of such witnesses unless previous enmity or ill-will was established on the record to falsely implicate the accused in the case.