| Citation(s) |
|---|
| 2026 SLG 4353 = 2026 SLD 4353 = 2026 SCP |
Supreme Court of Pakistan
JAIL PETITION NO.562 OF 2022 (Against the judgment dated 17.10.2022, passed by the High Court of Sindh, at Karachi in Criminal Jail Appeal No.549 of 2020)
Presented By: MR. JUSTICE MUHAMMAD HASHIM KHAN KAKAR MR. JUSTICE ISHTIAQ IBRAHIM
Mr. Khadim Hussain, Addl. PG, Sindh
JAIL PETITION NO.562 OF 2022 (Against the judgment dated 17.10.2022, passed by the High Court of Sindh, at Karachi in Criminal Jail Appeal No.549 of 2020)
Presented By: MR. JUSTICE MUHAMMAD HASHIM KHAN KAKAR MR. JUSTICE ISHTIAQ IBRAHIM
Mr. Khadim Hussain, Addl. PG, Sindh
Nadeem …Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
The State …Respondent(s)
Law: Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
Section: 302(b)
Law: Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
Section: 173,544-A,382-B, 342,302
Summary The Supreme Court of Pakistan (per Ishtiaq Ibrahim, J.) set aside the conviction of the petitioner Nadeem, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302(b) PPC for the murder of Mst. Seema Bibi. The prosecution's case rested almost entirely on an alleged judicial confession, which the Court found unreliable because it was recorded after an unexplained five-day delay, lacked material particulars (no date, time, place, manner, or victim identification), was not corroborated by any independent evidence, and was contradicted by the petitioner's claim under Section 342 Cr.P.C. that the Investigating Officer had promised his release if he confessed. Since no eyewitness testified, no last-seen evidence existed, and no weapon or incriminating article was recovered, the Court held the conviction was based on presumption and conjecture rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt, and acquitted the appellant by extending the benefit of doubt. Core Points The deceased, Mst. Seema Bibi, had already been divorced by the petitioner before the occurrence, so she was not his wife on the day of the incident. No prosecution witness (complainant Rafiq Jan PW-1, Shams-ur-Rehman PW-3, or ASI Muhammad Asif PW-6) was an eyewitness to the occurrence. The evidence only established unnatural death (asphyxia per Dr. Zakia PW-2), not whether it was suicidal or homicidal. The alleged judicial confession before Judicial Magistrate Ali Bux Mashori (PW-4) was recorded after an unexplained five-day delay from arrest. The confession was vague — it disclosed no date, time, place, manner, or identity of the victim. The confession received no corroboration from any independent direct or circumstantial evidence. Under Section 342 Cr.P.C., the petitioner claimed he was induced to confess on a promise of release, casting doubt on voluntariness and truthfulness. No last-seen evidence, weapon of offence, or incriminating article was recovered at the petitioner's instance. The occurrence took place in an open park with no ocular account. The conviction was based on presumption, surmise, and conjecture — not proof beyond reasonable doubt. The petition was…