GHOUS BAKSH vs State S — 2025 SCMR 547 SUPREME-COURT

Case information

Citation: 2025 SCMR 547 SUPREME-COURT
Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan
Year: 2025
Reporter: SCMR
Parties: GHOUS BAKSH vs State S
Subject matter: Criminal
Provisions referred to: S. 302

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Judgment text as reported

GHOUS BAKSH VS State S. 302(b)---Qatl-i-amd---Reappraisal of evidence---Circumstantial evidence---Retracted and hostile witness---Distinction---Benefit of doubt---Accused was convicted by Trial Court for qatl-i-amd and was sentenced to imprisonment for life---High Court maintained conviction and sentence awarded to accused---Validity---Mere retraction of earlier statement by a witness does not automatically render him/her hostile---Hostility and retraction are two different concepts---Hostility, in legal terms, refers to a deliberate intent to deviate from the truth or act against interests of the party calling the witness, whereas 'retraction' refers to the act of withdrawing or taking back a statement, testimony, or accusation often due to its inaccuracy, falsity, or unreliability---Circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain excluding every hypothesis other than the guilt of accused---In the present case in absence of direct or corroborative evidence, reliance on circumstantial evidence was insufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt---Uncertainty of complainant regarding identity of perpetrator introduced a reasonable doubt, which was sufficient to entitle accused to benefit of doubt---Retraction of a statement did not automatically equate to hostility and such crucial point was not sufficiently addressed by the lower fora---Supreme Court set aside conviction and sentence awarded to accused and acquitted him of the charge---Appeal was allowed.

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2025 SCMR 1730 SUPREME-COURTFARMAN ALI VS State Benefit of doubt---Principle---Prosecution is bound to prove its case beyond the shadow of any slightest doubt and the b…
2025 SCMR 1580 SUPREME-COURTMUHAMMAD BILAL VS State S. 302(b)---Qatl-i-amd---Re-appraisal of evidence---Medical evidence not supporting the ocular account---Accused was…
2025 SCMR 1558 SUPREME-COURTOBAIDULLAH VS State Circumstantial evidence---Scope---In case of circumstantial evidence, every circumstance should be linked with each othe…

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