' TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILLANI, J.---Appellant Muhammad Nadeem was proceeded against in terms of the case registered vide F.I.R. No,397 dated 11-8-1999 under section 302, P.P.C. At Police Station North Cantt, Lahore for the murder of his father-in-law Mukhtar Ahmed and the learned trial Court vide its judgment dated. 27-2-2002 while convicting him under section 302(b), P.P.C. Sentenced him to death as also to pay a sum of Rs,300,000 as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. This sentence has been confirmed by the learned High Court while dismissing appellant's appeal vide the judgment dated 16-1-2007.
2. The prosecution story as given in the impugned judgment briefly stated as follows:-- "3. The F.I.R. Is based on the statement (Fard Bian) of Iftikhar Ahmed, complainant/P.W.1. He disclosed that they were three brothers. Bashir Ahmed was eldest and Mukhthar Ahmed, deceased was the youngest. Their father had died while their mother Mst. Sharifan Bibi was alive. He resided on the ground floor of the aforementioned house with his family whereas the family of the deceased was in occupation of its upper portion. Their elder brother Bashir Ahmed lived in Tajpura Scheme who on the day of occurrence had come to see his mother. Mukhtar Ahmed deceased had two sons and three daughters. The eldest was Mst. Shaheen aged 17/18 years whose marriage was solemnized two years ago with Muhammad Nadeem, appellant. One month after her marriage Mst. Shaheen's relations with her husband became strained and she returned to her parent's house and was continuously living with them. In the meanwhile accused Muhammad Nadeem had been extending threats to Mukhtar Ahmed, deceased that he and his family would be done to death if his wife did not return to his house.
4. On 11-8-1999 at about 2-15 a.m., the complainant and his brother Bashir Ahmed heard their brother Mukhtar Ahmed shouting "Chore Chore". They went up the terrace (courtyard of the upper storey of the house). In the meantime Mst. Tasleem Bibi wife of Mukhtar, deceased and Muhammad Shafique, P. Ws. Had also reached there. Within their view Muhammad Nadeem, appellant gave successive Chhurri blows to Mukhtar Ahmed, deceased who succumbed to the injuries at the spot. The complainant and the ,P. Ws. Tried to catch hold of the accused but he succeeded in running away by scaling over the wall.
5. The motive for the offence as per F.I.R. Was the strained matrimonial, relations between Mst.
Shaheen Bibi and Muhammad Nadeem, accused/appellant. The complainant alleged that the appellant killed Mukhtar Ahmed, his father-in-law, on the abetment of his maternal uncle Muhammad Saleem son of Zain-ud-Din (since proclaimed offender)."
3. During trial the prosecution examined 3 eye-witnesses namely Iftikhar Ahmed P.W.1 (complainant), Tasleem Begum P.W.7 (wife of the deceased) and Shafique Ahmed P.W.2 (stated to be neighbour of the deceased). The accused when examined under section 342, Cr.P.C. Denied the prosecution story and came out with his own version which is as under:-- "I contracted marriage with Mst. Shaheen Bibi the daughter of the deceased on my own without the consent of family members of Shaheen Bibi. Afterwards, Mst. Shaheen was not permitted by the family members to come to my house while she continuously insisted to come to my house. In April, 1998 the elders of Mst. Shaheen invited me at their house. They gave me a cup of tea containing intoxicant. I, then became unconscious and they set me at fire and 70 per cent of my body was burnt. Luckily my life was saved. The house in which the deceased was living was in the name of his father. The deceased did not sell this house while the other brothers of the deceased wanted to sell it and he was hindrance in their way. On the fateful night the brothers of deceased had a scuffle with the deceased upon the matter of selling of house and during this altercation the deceased got some injuries at his thighs. The brothers of deceased had no intention to kill him.
Therefore, they attacked him at his legs. But when they came to know that due to over bleeding he died at the spot they in order to get rid of me and also to get rid of their real brother, family of deceased planted this occurrence upon the accused and they satisfied the wife of the deceased with the promise of giving considerable money for the sale of house."
4. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that it was a night occurrence; that the identity of the accused is doubtful; that the so called recovery of weapon of offence and blood-stained clothes of the appellant is fake and planted; that in absence of any independent corroboration, the prosecution case has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt to sustain conviction.
5. Learned counsel for the State, on the other hand, while defending the impugned judgment submitted in all fairness that there is evidence to indicate that the appellant was emotionally hurt as his wife whom he had married in sequel to a romance and against the wishes of the parents was being forcibly kept by the deceased against her wishes and that this aspect, this court may consider as a mitigating circumstance.
6. Having heard learned counsel for the appellant as also of the State, we find that so far as the credibiiity of the ocular account furnished by the prosecution is concerned, the same is unexceptionable first because two of them namely Iftikhar Ahmed. P.W.1 and Tasleem Begum P.W.7 are natural witnesses being inmates of the house and the third witness namely Shafique Ahmed P.W.2 is a neighbour whose house is adjacent to the house where the occurrence took place, second, these witnesses remained consistent on all material particulars and nothing could be brought on record in cross-examination to shake their veracity. The recovery of blood-stained clothes and weapon of offence has rightly been believed by the two courts below and no exception can be taken to that. However, coming to the question of sentence it is not denied that appellant had married daughter of the deceased namely Mst. Shaheen against the wishes of her parents. It is also in evidence that the said wife wanted to join the appellant but she was being prevented to do so by the father. It also stands admitted by the Investigating Officer while appearing as P.W.3 that appellant's infatuation for his wife was so intense that he used to write letters to her in his own blood. In the afore-referred circumstances, the appellant was not only in a state of emotional dejection but also living a lonely life without the wife taking care of the house-hold affairs and he was being deprived of the emotional satisfaction of companionship. These features have been found by us to be sufficient to make out a case for mitigation. This is consistent with an earlier view of this Court Muhammad Iqbal v. The State (PLD 2001 SC 222) wherein the accused had caused the murder of his father-in-law as the latter was keeping the wife of the former. The learned High Court in the said case had converted the sentence of death into life imprisonment and this court did not interfere with the said judgment.
7. For what has been discussed above, this appeal is partly allowed and the sentence of death awarded to the appellant is converted into life B imprisonment. The sentence of compensation shall remain intact in default whereof the appellant shall undergo six months' S.I. However, he shall be extended the benefit of section 382-B, Cr.P.C.