IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Mushir Alam 
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
  
Criminal Petition No.923 of 2020 
(Against the order dated 22.07.2020 passed by the Lahore 
High Court Lahore in Crl. Misc. No.28210-B/2020) 
 
 
Muhammad Ashraf 
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
The State & another  
 
 
….Respondent(s) 
For the Petitioner(s): 
 
Mr. Javed Imran Ranjha, ASC 
 
 
 
 
 
Syed Rifaqat Hussain Shah, AOR 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For the State: 
Rana Abdul Majeed, 
 
Addl. Prosecutor General Punjab with M. 
Riaz, SI P.S. Civil Lines, M.B. Din. 
 
For the Complainant: 
Mr. Khadim Hussain Qaiser, ASC 
 
Date of hearing: 
22.09.2020. 
 
 
 
 
ORDER 
 
  
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.-  Muhammad Arif, 52, was 
shot dead at 2:55 p.m. on 11.12.2019, in front of District Courts, within the 
precincts of Police Station Civil Lines Mandi Bahauddin, shortly after 
attending court proceedings while awaiting public transport along with Gul 
Muhammad, Bashir Ahmed, Tariq Mehmood and Faiz Ahmed, PWs; Tariq 
Mehmood, deceased’s real brother lodged the report with the police and 
blamed Khawar Riaz, Atif Nawaz, Muhammad Zubair and Khizar Hayat 
accompanied by two unknown assailants, with multiple fire shots to the 
deceased on the instigation of Riaz Ahmad, Muhammad Ashraf son of 
Ghulam Rasool and Armaghan Asim. Past blood feud is cited as motive for 
the crime. Autopsy revealed three independent entry wounds while an exiting 
projectile re-entered the body again with a corresponding exit. Barring 
Muhammad Zubair, attributed a fire shot to Gul Muhammad PW, remainder 
of the accused were assigned shots to the deceased. Khizar Hayat co-accused, 
assigned a specific shot to the deceased, was exonerated during the course of 
investigation and granted pre-arrest, without challenge by the complainant. 
The petitioner emerged in the array as one of the unknown assailants; 
arrested on 25.01.2020 under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 
1898, he alongside Zishan Wali and Muhammad Iftikhar was identified by the 
 
Criminal Petition No.923 of 2020 
 
 
 2  
  
 
witnesses in a test identification parade held on 28.01.2020 as a hired 
assassin engaged by the co-accused to prosecute their object. 
 2. 
 
Heard. Record perused. 
 3. 
 
Be that as it may, the petitioner was not initially named in the 
crime report; he has been picked with two others by graduating the number of 
unknown assailants to three, who according to the complainant had also 
effectively targeted the deceased, medically found to have three entry wounds, 
individually assigned to the nominated accused. These circumstances, result 
of the test identification parade notwithstanding, nonetheless, squarely bring 
petitioner’s case within the remit of subsection 2 of section 497 of the Code 
ibid as attribution belatedly assigned to him does not correspond both with 
the findings recorded by the Medical Officer as well as the number of unknown 
assailants mentioned in the crime report. In this backdrop, his alleged 
culpability of being a paid participant in the crime can be best settled after 
recording of evidence. Criminal Petition No.923 of 2020 is converted into 
appeal and allowed; petitioner/appellant shall be released on bail upon 
furnishing bond in the sum of Rs.500,000/- with one surety in the like 
amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court/duty Judge.  
  
 
  Judge 
 
 
 
            Judge 
 
 
 
            Judge 
Islamabad, the 
22nd September, 2020 
Not approved for reporting 
Azmat/- 
 
 
 
Criminal Petition No.923 of 2020 
 
 
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