Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 13(a)

(a) Constitution of Pakistan---

----Art. 13(a)---Protection against double punishment---Double jeopardy---Scope---Protection given under Article 13(a) of the Constitution is against prosecution and punishment, which means the trial and its proceedings followed by a conviction---If the first prosecution results in an acquittal, so far as Article 13(a) of the Constitution is concerned, the second prosecution is not prohibited---Concept of double jeopardy essentially means that a person cannot be tried multiple times for the same offence on which there is a conviction based on the same set of facts as they should not be put in peril twice---It is based on the rule of conclusiveness and finality which requires that once a court has taken cognizance of an offence, tried a person and convicted them, then for the same offence that person cannot be tried again---So, the basic question is that in the case of double jeopardy, the second trial should be on the same set of facts of the first trial which resulted in a conviction for the same offence, which would require the same evidence before the court---Basically, this means that the case has to be the same as the one that has already resulted in a conviction but if the proceedings are different in substance and law then it will not be a case of double jeopardy.

Muhammad Ashraf v. The State 1995 SCMR 626; Sohail Ahmad v. Government of Pakistan 2022 SCMR 1387; Muhammad Tufail v. Assistant Commissioner/Collector 1989 SCMR 316 and Lord Hailsham, 9 Halsbury's Laws of England (2nd ed. 1931), 152-153, Para [212] ref.