IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT:  
Mr. Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik 
Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
Criminal Appeal No.97-L of 2016 & Criminal Petition No.465-L 
of 2014 
(On appeal from the judgment dated 27.03.2014 passed by the Lahore High Court, 
Multan Bench in M.R. No.46 of 2009, Crl.A No.305 of 2008, Crl. Rev. No.95 of 
2009 & Crl. PSLA No.20 of 2009). 
 
Bashir Ahmad  
Mst. Kaneez Fatima 
…Appellant(s) 
…Petitioner(s) 
VERSUS 
The State, etc. 
(In both cases) 
 
…Respondent(s) 
 
 
For the Appellant(s) 
: Malik Muhammad Saleem, ASC 
 
 
 
For the Petitioner(s) 
: Malik Muhammad Munsif Awan, ASC 
 
 
 
For the State 
: Mr. Mazhar Sher Awan,  
Additional Prosecutor General 
 
 
 
Date of Hearing 
: 07.05.2019 
 
JUDGMENT 
 
 
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.- Criminal Appeal  
by Bashir Ahmad, convict and Criminal Petition for leave to appeal  
by Mst. Kaneez Fatima, sister of Talib Hussain deceased, arisen 
out of incident dated 29.5.2003, with a common thread are being 
decided through this singe judgment.  
2. 
 
Prosecution case is structured upon statement of 
Ghulam Hussain, PW-2. According to him, on the fateful day his 
daughter Mst. Kaneez Mai was on her way to fetch grocery items 
when Naseer Bakhsh accused held her by hair, while his brother 
Ahmed dealt her club blow; upon receipt of information, the 
complainant with a pistol rushed to the spot; Naseer Bakhsh hit 
him with the club; the pistol felled, picked by Naseer Bakhsh 
accused. In the meantime, Talib Hussain deceased with.12 caliber 
gun is attracted to the spot. Rehmat Ali accused engaged the 
deceased with a hatchet blow on his right ear, later fell on the 
ground when Naseer Bakhsh, Ahmed Khan, Rehmat Ali, Bashir 
Crl.A.97-L of 2016 & Crl.P.465-L of 2014. 
 
 
 
 
 
2 
 
Ahmad and Muhammad Zaman caused injuries; the deceased 
succumbed to the injuries at the spot. Manhandling of Mst. Kaneez 
Mai, PW by Naseer Bakhsh is cited as motive for the crime. 
 
Dissatisfied with police investigation, the complainant 
preferred to prosecute the accused through a private complaint; he 
blamed that crime report was not faithfully recorded by the 
investigating officer, otherwise biased in favour of the accused. 
Indictment 
resulted 
into 
conviction 
vide 
judgment 
dated 
18.12.2008. For homicide, the appellant was sentenced to death 
besides being held in the community of intention qua the injuries 
suffered by the witnesses. Naseer Bakhsh, Muhammad Zaman and 
Ahmed Khan were convicted and sentenced for injuries to the 
witnesses. Appeal filed by the convict met with no better fate. A 
learned division bench of the Lahore High Court at Multan vide 
impugned judgment dated 27.3.2014 upheld the convictions albeit 
with alteration of death penalty into imprisonment for life; 
sentences awarded to the co-accused were reduced to already 
undergone by them. Petition for Special Leave to Appeal by the 
complainant was dismissed vide the same judgment; they are in 
contest once again before us.  
3. 
 
Well orchestrated narrative by the witnesses that  
includes the injured, notwithstanding, we have noticed inherent 
shortcomings casting their shadow on the prosecution case. Naseer 
Bakhsh and Bashir Ahmad are real brothers, Ahmed Khan 
accused is former’s son. Muhammad Zaman and Rehmat Ali also 
hail from the same clan; the entire household is in the array and in 
this backdrop argument that it is a case of wider net is not entirely 
beside the mark. Similarly, a pistol and shotgun, admittedly with 
the deceased and the complainant, lend credence to hypothesis of 
aggression; renunciation of crime report by the complainant goes a 
long way to tremor the very basis of his case. Suppression of 
injuries of an opponent is yet another intriguing circumstance. 
While the complainant was well within the remit of law to pursue 
his 
case 
through 
a 
private 
complaint, 
nonetheless, 
non-
examination of investigating officer alongside some other witnesses 
cannot be countenanced without exposing the accused to a 
grievous prejudice. Prosecution case is not free from doubt and 
Crl.A.97-L of 2016 & Crl.P.465-L of 2014. 
 
 
 
 
 
3 
 
thus it would be unsafe to maintain the conviction. Resultantly, 
Criminal Appeal is allowed, the impugned judgment is set aside. 
The appellant shall be at set at liberty forthwith, if not required in 
any other case. As a natural corollary criminal petition for leave to 
appeal is dismissed. These are the reasons of our short order of 
even date which is reproduced as under:- 
 
“For reasons to be recorded later, the instant criminal appeal is 
allowed. The conviction and sentence of the appellant Bashir 
Ahmad is set aside. He is acquitted of the charge framed 
against him. The appellant is present in person as he is on bail 
after suspension of his sentence by the learned High Court. 
Therefore, his sureties are ordered to be discharged. Criminal 
Petition No.465-L of 2014 filed for enhancement of sentence of 
respondents No.2-5 is dismissed.” 
 
     
 
 
 
 
JUDGE 
 
 
 
JUDGE 
 
 
 
Lahore, the 
07th of May, 2019 
Ghulam Raza/* 
JUDGE