IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik 
Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
 
Jail Petition Nos.467, 613 & Criminal Petition No. 693 of 2017 
(Against judgment dated 16.03.2017 passed by Lahore High Court 
Multan Bench Multan in Criminal Appeal No.698 of 2015 as well 
as Nos. 6, 9, 10 & 12 of 2016 & Crl. Revision No.98 of 2016) 
 
 
Munir Ahmed  
(in J.P. No.613 of 2017) 
Sabir Hussain & another 
(in J.P. No.467 of 2017) 
Abid Hussain 
(in Cr. P. No.693 of 2017) 
 
 
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
 
The State  
(in both Jail Petitions) 
Nadir Hussain & others 
(in Cr. P. No.693 of 2017) 
 
…Respondent(s) 
 
For the Petitioner(s): 
Nemo 
 
(in J.P. No.613 of 2017) 
 
Mr. Dil Muhammad Khan Alizai, ASC  
 
 
 
 
 
(in J.P. No.467 of 2017) 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Shah Khawar, ASC 
 
 
 
 
 
(in Cr. P. No.693 of 2017) 
 
  
For the State: 
Mirza Abid Majeed, 
 
Deputy Prosecutor General Punjab 
  
 
 
Date of hearing: 
08.10.2019. 
 
JUDGMENT 
 
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J. Muhammad Ajmal 
and his brother-in-law Nadir Hussain were fatally shot on 
22.1.2011 at 7:00 p.m. within the precincts of Police Station Ali 
Pur, District Muzaffargar; Muhammad Imran PW survived the 
Jail Petition Nos.467, 613 & Cr. P. No.693 of 2017 
2
assault with gunshot; incident was reported at the spot by Abid 
Hussain, a real brother; he arrayed eighteen accused by name 
accompanied by eight unknown, each armed differently; the 
petitioners are amongst the accused assigned effective shots to the 
deceased as well as the injured. 
 
According to the crime report, in the backdrop of an abortive 
exchange 
marriage, 
the 
accused, 
under 
the 
barrage 
of 
indiscriminate firing, trespassed into complainant’s house; Nadir 
Hussain petitioner targeted Muhammad Ajmal deceased in his 
head followed by a fire shot by Munir Ahmed petitioner on left 
thigh of Muhammad Imran whereafter Muhammad Sabir petitioner 
fired upon Nadir Hussain deceased on his left shoulder; it is 
prosecution’s case that all the accused kept on firing continuously 
and upon arrival of the neighbourhood, decamped from the scene, 
leaving behind 56 casings and blood at various spots, secured vide 
inventories. Sabir Hussain and Nadir Hussain petitioners stayed 
away from law for a period exceeding two years; Munir Ahmed 
petitioner was, however, arrested alongside other accused, except 
those exonerated during investigation, on conclusion whereof, 
besides the petitioners, 13 others were indicted by a learned 
Additional Sessions Judge at Muzaffargarh who vide judgment 
dated 19.12.2015, let off Wazir, Latif, Abdul Rasheed and Ghulam 
Qadir while returning a guilty verdict qua the remainder; for 
homicide and murderous assault, Sabir Hussain and Nadir 
Hussain were sentenced to death whereas Munir Ahmed to  
10-years R.I. along with conviction and sentences on coordinate 
charges. The High Court maintained convictions of the present 
petitioners 
albeit 
with 
alteration 
of 
death 
penalty 
into 
imprisonment for life and reduction of 10-years imprisonment into 
five years R.I. while acquitting the others from the charge vide 
judgment dated 16.3.2017, vires whereof have been challenged on 
a variety of grounds ranging from improbability of prosecution 
story to nomination of hugely exaggerated assailants in the crime 
report; contested by the State on the strength of analysis and 
findings consequent thereupon by the lower tribunals.  
2. 
 
Heard. Record perused. 
Jail Petition Nos.467, 613 & Cr. P. No.693 of 2017 
3
3. 
 
  Loss of precious lives, within a family fold, though on 
rocks, confirmed by the witnesses including the one with a stamp 
of injury, notwithstanding, there are certain intriguing aspects, 
haunting the prosecution, in the totality of circumstances, a 
hugely large number of assailants, including the unknown, being 
the most prominent. In the face of indiscriminate firing, a case 
unambiguously put forth by the prosecution, receipt of single shot 
by each deceased as well as the injured belies the hypothesis of 
massive indiscriminate firing by each member of unlawful 
assembly comprising no less than 26, the unknown included; from 
amongst the volley of assailants, precision attribution, in an 
extreme crisis situation, is a feat, beyond human capacity, it sans 
forensic support as well; quite a few from amongst the array were 
let off at investigative stage, on the basis of an affidavit sworn by 
no other than the injured himself; prosecution’s dilemma is further 
compounded by acquittal of four accused, framed through the 
same set of evidence by the Trial Court; a severer blow came from 
the High Court that acquitted all others except the petitioners. The 
petitioners, though distinctly assigned single shot qua the 
deceased and the injured, nonetheless, are identically placed with 
those by now, off the hook. Inclusion of the unknown, eight in 
numbers, if factually correct was certainly not without a purpose; 
if at all, they were there, the petitioners and other known members 
of the family had no occasion to carry out the assault without 
being out of mind. Notwithstanding the magnitude of loss of lives, 
the totality of circumstances, unambiguously suggest that the 
occurrence did not place in the manner as is alleged in the crime 
report; argument that number of assailants has been hugely 
exaggerated, as confirmed by the acquittals of the co-accused with 
somewhat identical roles, though without specific attributions, is 
not entirely beside the mark and in retrospect calls for caution. It 
would be unsafe to maintain the convictions. Consequently, Jail 
Petitions are converted into appeals and allowed; impugned 
judgment is set aside; the appellants are acquitted from the charge 
and shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case. 
Jail Petition Nos.467, 613 & Cr. P. No.693 of 2017 
4
 
As a natural corollary, Criminal Petition No.693 of 2017 
stands dismissed. 
 
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
 
Islamabad  
9th October, 2019 
Not Approved for reporting 
Azmat/-