| Citation(s) |
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| 2026 SLG 4355 = 2026 SLD 4355 = 2026 SCP |
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Jail Petition No.326/2021 & Criminal petition No.928-L/2021 (Against the judgment dated 24.05.2021, passed by the Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Appeal No.31268/2017 and Murder Reference No.512/2017)
Presented By: Mr. Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar Mr. Justice Salahuddin Panhwar Mr. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim
Mr. Sarfaraz Khan Khichi, DPG, Punjab (in both cases)
Jail Petition No.326/2021 & Criminal petition No.928-L/2021 (Against the judgment dated 24.05.2021, passed by the Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Appeal No.31268/2017 and Murder Reference No.512/2017)
Presented By: Mr. Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar Mr. Justice Salahuddin Panhwar Mr. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim
Mr. Sarfaraz Khan Khichi, DPG, Punjab (in both cases)
Faheem alias Babbly (in JP No.326/2021) Rana Muhammad Afzaal (in Crl.P No.928-L/2021) …Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
The State (in JP No.326/2021) Faheem alias Babbly and the State (in Crl.P No.928-L/2021) …Respondent(s)
Law: Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
Section: 302,302(b),302(c),337-F(ii), 34
Law: Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
Section: 544-A,382-B
Summary The Supreme Court of Pakistan, through Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, disposed of two petitions arising from a murder trial. Faheem alias Babbly had been convicted by the Trial Court under section 302(b) PPC and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment by the Lahore High Court. The Supreme Court found that the prosecution failed to establish the true genesis of the occurrence — the accused himself was arrested in an injured condition on the day of the incident, his injuries were never satisfactorily explained, and the police did not record his version. Considering the single blow inflicted, the solitary injury to the deceased, the absence of prior planning or premeditation, and the unexplained altercation, the Court converted the conviction from 302(b) to 302(c) PPC, sentencing the appellant to 14 years' rigorous imprisonment. The complainant's petition for enhancement of sentence was dismissed as infructuous. Core Points The occurrence did not take place in the mode and manner alleged by the prosecution; the true genesis remained unexplained. The petitioner-convict was arrested in an injured condition on the day of the incident, and his injuries were not explained by the eyewitnesses. The defence version was supported by the testimony of Akbar Ghani, SI, and documentary evidence (docket Exh.DA). The deceased sustained only a solitary incised wound; the accused inflicted a single blow and did not repeat the assault. No evidence of previous enmity, prior design, or cruelty was established — the act occurred at the spur of the moment. Conviction under section 302(b) PPC was set aside and converted to section 302(c) PPC. Sentence: 14 years' rigorous imprisonment; all sentences to run concurrently; benefit of section 382-B Cr.P.C. extended. The complainant's enhancement petition (Criminal Petition No.928-L of 2021) was dismissed as infructuous. Law and Sections Section Offence / Provision Application in Judgment Section 302 PPC Qatl-i-amd (murder) Governing provision for the murder charge Section 302(b) PPC Qatl-i-amd punishable with death (premeditated/intentional) Original conviction; set aside by Supreme Court Section…