AQEEL HUSSAIN vs State Ss — 2022 YLR 999 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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AQEEL HUSSAIN VS State Ss. 336 & 336-B---anti-Terrorism act (XXVII of 1997), S. 7---Itlaf-i-salahiyyat-i-udw, hurt caused by corrosive substance, act of terrorism---appreciation of evidence---Ocular account not supported by medical evidence---Prosecution case was that the accused threw jug full of acid over brother of the complainant, which resulted in injuries on his face, eyes and chest---Present matter was a typical case of vitriolage whereby, face of the victim was permanently mutilated and his eyesight was lost in a gruesome manner---Vital question was whether the accused was the culprit who committed the alleged occurrence---Court had to appraise the probative value of ocular account tendered by the prosecution to determine the culpability of accused as conviction could only be sustained on the strength of such evidence---Record showed that the statements of the prosecution witnesses were not only at variance with each other but also ran contrary to story narrated in the crime report qua the role of accused persons played in the occurrence and manner in which it was committed---Material improvements were made by the prosecution witnesses which further made their credibility doubtful---Moreover, it did not appeal to common sense that jug full of corrosive substance was thrown on the victim by all the accused persons together as stated by the prosecution witnesses or even by two accused as narrated in the crime report---Thus, it seemed that a wider net had been knitted to implicate additional accused along with the actual culprit---Ocular account being replete with material improvements, contradictions, discrepancies and inconsistencies was untrustworthy, therefore, same could not be relied upon to sustain the conviction of accused---Prosecution had failed to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt---appeal was allowed and accused was acquitted by setting aside convictions and sentences recorded by the Trial Court.

AQEEL HUSSAIN vs State Ss — 2022 YLR 999 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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