confessional statement given in Rangers custody before the magistrate as unreliable, the High Court acquitted the accused. 2024 Y L R 947
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| Confession in murder 2024 Y L R 947 |
فوجداری مقدمات میں شواہد کی اہمیت، اقبالی بیان کی قانونی حیثیت اور شک کے فائدے کے اصول کو ایک بار پھر واضح کرتا ہے، خصوصاً انسدادِ دہشت گردی جیسے سنگین مقدمات میں جہاں معمولی کمزوری بھی سزا برقرار رکھنے میں رکاوٹ بن سکتی ہے۔
مقدمے کا تعارف
الزام اور قانونی دفعات
استغاثہ کے شواہد کا جائزہ
پولیس تفتیش کی کمزوریاں
عدالتی اقبالی بیان اور اس کی واپسی
اقبالی بیان پر عدم اعتماد کی وجوہات
شک کا فائدہ اور قانونی اصول
حتمی فیصلہ
نتیجہ
Must read Judgement
2024 Y L R 947
[Sindh ]
Before Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Kausar Sultana Hussain, JJ
Syed AFSAR alias RIZVI---Appellant
Versus
The STATE---Respondent
Special Criminal Anti-Terrorism Jail Appeal No. 61 of 2022, decided on 24th May, 2023.
(a) Penal Code (XLV of 1860)---
----Ss. 302(b) & 34---Anti-Terrorism Act (XXVII of 1997), S. 7---Qatl-i-amd, common intention, act of terrorism---Appreciation of evidence---Benefit of doubt---Accused was charged for committing murder of the nephew of complainant and his friend by firing---No eye-witness to the murder was there---No last seen evidence was there---No recovery of any weapon was made from the accused---Accused allegedly took the police to the place where the murder took place but admittedly that place was already known to the police so that piece of evidence was irrelevant---Significantly, the one place which the police did not know about i.e. from where the deceased was abducted, the accused did not take the police there---Appeal was allowed, in circumstances.
(b) Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)---
----S. 164--- Judicial confession---Retraction---Scope---Retracted confession before a Magistrate could be the basis of conviction in a capital case.
Muhammad Amin v. The State PLD 2006 SC 219; Muhammad Ismail and others v. The State 2017 SCMR 898 and Fazal Rehman and others v. The State and others PLD 2004 SC 250 rel.
(c) Penal Code (XLV of 1860)---
----Ss. 302(b) & 34---Anti-Terrorism Act (XXVII of 1997), S. 7---Qatl-i-amd, common intention, act of terrorism---Appreciation of evidence---Benefit of doubt---Confession, retraction of---Accused was charged for committing murder of the nephew of complainant and his friend by firing---Based on the particular facts and circumstances of this case where admittedly the accused had been held in communicado in rangers custody where he originally admitted to numerous crimes for 90 days and the confession itself, which the accused claimed was not voluntary---Thus, it was not safe to rely on the retracted judicial confession and same was to be excluded from consideration---Moreover, it would be impossible for the accused to record such a long and detailed confession whereby he confessed to many murders over a number of years with dates and locations and names of persons concerned in the murder as well as the persons who were murdered---To do so would require a photo graphic memory which the accused did not possess---Furthermore, why would he confess to so many murders which all attracted the death penalty---Said fact did not appeal to logic, reason or common sense---Why would accused confess to the instant murder for which he was charged which happened over 4 years ago when there was no other evidence against him in this case which again did not appeal to logic, reason or common sense---Most likely scenario was that the accused was given the already typed out confession and simply made to sign it---Appeal was allowed, in circumstances.
Abdul Sattar v. The State PLD 1976 SC 404; Hayatullah v. The State 2018 SCMR 2092; Taj Bahadur alias Taji v. The State 1997 MLD 1072; Anwar Hussain v. The State 2019 YLR 1117; Attaullah alias Qasim v. The State 2006 YLR 3213; Azhar Ali v. The State 2021 YLR 2263; Muhammad Javed v. The State 2021 YLR 2075; Fazal Hussain alias Faqeera v. The State 2020 PCr.LJ 311; Owais v. The State 2022 PCr.LJ 920; Riaz Ahmed v. The State 2010 SCMR 846; Fazal Akbar v. The State 2013 PCr.LJ 369; Sardar Bibi v. Munir Ahmed 2017 SCMR 344; Muhammad Amin v. The State PLD 2006 SC 219; Dadullah and another v. The State 2015 SCMR 856; Akhtar v. The State 2014 PCr.LJ 993; Arshad Ali v. The State 2014 YLR 1394; Niazuddin v. The State 2011 SCMR 725; Khadim Hussain v. The State PLD 2010 SC 669; Majeed v. The State 2010 SCMR 55; Nazeer alias Wazeer v. The State PLD 2007 SC 202; Muhammad Ehsan v. The State 2006 SCMR 1857 and Manjeet Singh v. The State PLD 2006 SC 30 ref.
Raj Ali Wahid Kunwar along with Abdul Qadir Soomro for Appellant.
Ali Haider Saleem, Additional Prosecutor General, Sindh and Rana Khalid Hussain, Special Prosecutor Rangers for the State