Law:

Section:

(a) Penal Code (XLV of 1860)------S. 295-C---Constitution of Pakistan (1973). Art. 185(3)---Allegation of use of derogatory remarks etc. in respect of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.)--­Leave to appeal was granted by the Supreme Court to consider whether the principles of safe administration of justice and evaluation of evidence in criminal cases laid down by the Supreme Court had been followed in the case while appraising the prosecution evidence and that whether the offence of blasphemy covered by S.295-C, P.P.C. fell within the purview of Hadd and the evidence for conviction of the amused must undergo the test of Tazkia­tul-Shahood. (b) Penal Code (XL of 1860)----- ----S. 295-C---Allegation of use of derogatory remarks etc. in respect of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.)---Burden of proof---Defiling words highlighted in the F.I.R. certainly constituted the offence under S.295-C, P.P.C. but the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt---Prosecution being obliged to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt and if it failed to do so the accused was entitled to benefit of doubt as of right---Rule of benefit of doubt was essentially a rule of prudence which could not be ignored while dispensing justice in accordance with law---Doubt must be reasonable and not imaginary---Said rule was based on the maxim "it is better that ten guilty persons be acquitted rather than one innocent person be convicted" and occupied a pivotal place in the Islamic law and is enforced rigorously in view of the saying of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) that the "mistake of Qazi (Judge) in releasing a criminal is better, than his mistake in punishing an innocent". In the present case the defiling words highlighted in the F.I.R. certainly constitute the offence under section, 295-C, P.P.C. but the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt The accused is, therefore, entitled to the benefit of doubt which was withheld by the two Courts without the support of sound reasons. The prosecution is obliged to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt and if it fails to do so…

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/digixyei/sldsystempk.com/view/master-layout/view_case.php on line 492