' ASIF SAEED KHAN KHOSA, J.--- Khadim Hussain appellant was convicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khanewal vide judgment, dated 17-9-1995 for an offence under section 302(b), P.P.C., and was sentenced to death and to pay a fine of Rs,20,000 or in default of payment thereof to undergo R.I. For six months. The amount of fine, if recovered, was ordered to be given to the heirs of Rehana Bibi deceased. He was also convicted for an offence under section 452, P.P.C., and was sentenced to R.I. For five years and a fine of Rs,2,000 or in default of payment thereof to undergo R.I.
For one month. He was also convicted on two counts of an offence under section 324, P.P.C., and was sentenced to R.I. For ten years on each count and a fine of Rs,5,000 on each count or in default of payment thereof to undergo R.I. For three months on each count. Half of the fine, if recovered, was ordered to be given to the injured Mst. Kausar Bibi and Yasmeen Bibi. He was further convicted on two counts of an offence under section 336, P.P.C. And was sentenced to R.I. For ten years on each count and Arsh of Rs,1,00,000 on each count to be given to the injured Mst. Kausar Bibi and Yasmeen Bibi. Khadim Hussain convict has challenged his convictions and sentences before this Court through Criminal Appeal No,262 of 1995. We have heard the appeal alongwith Murder Reference No,192 of 1997 seeking confirmation of the sentence of death passed against him. We propose to decide both these matters together through the present consolidated judgment.
2. The prosecution story narrated in the F.I.R. Was that Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant was an agriculturist by profession and a resident of Chak No,94/10-R within the area of Police Station Sadar, Khanewal. His Bhaini was situated outside the Chak in Killa No,22 of Square No,84. About ten years ago he had married Mst. Kausar Bibi and they were blessed with a son named Shahid Iqbal and two daughters namely Yasmeen Bibi and Rehana Bibi aged about 6 years, four years and three years respectively at the time of the present occurrence. Khadim Hussain appellant, a son of a brother of the complainant, had married Mst. Kaneez Bibi, a sister of the complainant's wife, about three years ago. Two years later Khadim Hussain appellant had divorced her on account of strained relations. The appellant had suspected that the source of his strained relations with his wife was the complainant's wife Mst. Kausar Bibi. About a month prior to the present occurrence the appellant had threatened the complainant's wife that he would destroy her matrimonial life as she had done to his. During the night between 8/9-6-1994 the complainant had gone to sleep with his guests namely Haji Muhammad Ismail and Muhammad Akram on cots placed outside the complainant's Haveli near the door. The complainant's son Shahid Iqbal was sleeping with the complainant. The complainant's wife and daughters were sleeping inside the Haveli on two cots and a lantern was alight in the compound. At about 12-30 a.m. The complainant and his guests woke up on hearing thump, of a person jumping inside the Haveli. They rushed inside and saw in the light of the lantern that. Khadim Hussain appellant was standing between the two cots holding a plastic bottle full of acid in his hand. Then within the view of the complainant and his guests the appellant firstly poured acid on Mst. Kausar Bibi and Rehana Bibi and then on Yasmeen Bibi. The complainant and others tried to apprehend the appellant but he threatened them not to come near him otherwise they would also be dealt with in a similar fashion. Thereafter, the appellant ran away. The complainant and others then handled the complainant's injured wife and daughters and found that their bodies as well as their bedding and cots 'had been badly burnt. Upon their hue and cry many persons from the village also reached the place of occurrence. Initially the complainant tried to prove first aid to the members of his family at home but then took them to Civil Hospital, Khanewal.
3. On his way to the hospital Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) met Ashiq Hussain, A.S.-I.
(P.W.8) at the Lorry Adda, Khanewal at 6-30 p.m. On 9-6-1994 and made a statement (Exh.P.M.) before him there in respect of the incident in question. Formal F.I.R. No,153 (Exh.P.M./1) was registered in that regard at Police Station Sadar, Khanewal by Aas Muhammad, H.C. At 6-40 p.m.
On the same day for offences under section 324/336/452, P.P.C. Upon subsequent death of Rehana Bibi section 302, P.P.C. Was added to the F.I.R.
4. After recording the statement of the complainant Ashiq Hussain, A.S.-I./S.H.O. (P.W.8) took up the investigation of this case, prepared injury statements of Mst. Kausar Bibi, Rehana Bibi and Yasmeen Bibi and sent them to the hospital. Then he proceeded to the place of occurrence, prepared a rough site-plan thereof and took into possession the injured persons' burnt clothes and bedding as well as a lantern therefrom besides recording the statements of witnesses. On 28-6-1994 he recorded the statement of Mst. Kausar Bibi in the hospital when the doctor confirmed that she was fit to make a statement. On 2-7-1994 he added section 302, P.P.C., to the F.I.R. After receiving information about the death of Rehana Bibi. He then prepared an inquest report regarding the dead body and took the same to the mortuary for autopsy.
5. Dr. Ghulam Murtaza (P.W.2) medically examined Mst. Kausar Bibi on 9-6-1994 and found seven acid burn injuries on her person caused within a duration of about 14 to 16 hours. The said injuries had caused permanent disfigurement to Mst. Kausar Bibi and had also permanently impaired the functioning of her left ear. The same doctor also medically examined Rehana Bibi on the same day and found two acid burn injuries on her person covering her whole face and entire body caused within a duration of about 14 to 16 hours. The same doctor had also medically examined Yasmeen Bibi on the same day and had found three acid burn injuries on her person covering her whole face and entire body caused within a duration of about 14 to 16 hours. Her both eyes were also burnt and unable to open. The said injuries had caused permanent disfigurement of her face and chest and had also permanently impaired the functioning of both her arms. On 2-7-1994 the same doctor also conducted post-mortem examination of the dead body of Rehana Bibi at 5-30 a.m. The cause of death was renal failure and septesmic shock which was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. In the opinion of the doctor death occurred about 24 days after receipt of the injuries and post-mortem examination was conducted about 7 to 8 of the death.
6. After postmortem examination of the dead body Ashiq Hussain, A.S.-I. (P.W.8), the Investigating Officer, secured the last-worn cloth of the deceased. The investigation of this case was then transferred to Muhammad Akram Sial, S.-I./S.H.O. (P.W.7) who got a formal site-plan of the place of occurrence prepared by a draftsman. He arrested Khadim Hussain appellant on 27-8-1994.
Thereafter, he completed the other formalities, finalized his investigation and submitted a Challan in respect of this case.
7. At the commencement of the trial the learned Trial Court framed a Charge with four heads under sections 452, 302, 324 and 336, P.P.C., against the appellant to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.
8. During the trial the prosecution produced as many as eight witnesses in support of its case against the appellant. Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) and Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) furnished the ocular account of the incident and also stated about the motive. Dr. Ghulam Murtaza (P.W.2) provided the medical evidence. Ashiq Hussain, A.S.-I. (P.W.8) and Muhammad Akram Sial, S.-I./S.H.O. (P.W.7) stated about various steps taken by them during the investigation of this case.
The remaining evidence produced by the prosecution was more or less of formal nature.
9.. In his statement recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C., Khadim Hussain appellant denied and controverted all the allegations of fact levelled against him by the prosecution and professed his innocence. He, however, admitted the facts of his marriage with and divorce from Mst. Kaneez Bibi sister of Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6). While answering a question as to why he had been implicated in this case and as to why the prosecution witnesses had deposed against him Khadim Hussain appellant had stated as follows: "I had divorced the sister-in-law of the complainant. Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant involved me in this case falsely. The P.Ws. Are relatives of the complainant and, therefore, they deposed against me."
' The appellant opted not to make any statement on oath under section 340(2), Cr.P.C. However, he produced Ahmad Bakhsh (D. W.1) in his defence.
10. At the conclusion of the trial the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khanewal convicted and sentenced the appellant as noticed and detailed above. Hence, the present appeal and the connected Murder Reference before this Court.
11. We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant and the State and have also gone through the record of this case with their assistance.
12. It has been argued by the learned counsel for the appellant that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt. He has further argued that the appellant had no live motive against the complainant's wife and daughters so as to harm them in such a manner and that others with serious grievances against the complainant's wife might have committed the offences against her and her daughters. He has also argued that the presence of Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) in the village in question at the time of occurrence was doubtful and Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) was not in a position to see the culprit after receipt of acid burns on her face. Thus, according to him, both the eye-witnesses produced by the prosecution were not reliable for sustaining the appellant's conviction. In the alternative the learned counsel for the appellant has argued that the motive set up by the prosecution had not been proved and, therefore, the appellant did not deserve the sentence of death passed against him by the learned Trial Court. As against that, the learned counsel for the State has argued that the guilt of the appellant had been proved by the prosecution to the hit and that he had acted cruelly and brutally and, thus, not deserve any concession in the matter of sentence.
13. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and going through the record we have no hesitation in concluding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving its case against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt. It is infact an open and shut case against the appellant. Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) and Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) were the most natural witnesses of the occurrence as the occurrence had taken place inside their house at a time when both of them were ordinarily expected to be present therein or thereabout. Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) was herself seriously injured during the occurrence and, thus, her presence at the place of occurrence at the relevant time was quite obvious and beyond doubt. It is true that her first statement before the police was recorded almost three weeks after the occurrence but the same had been occasioned on account of her admission to the hospital in very serious condition throughout that period. It was only after her fitness to make a statement was certified by the doctor that the Investigating Officer could manage to record the same. The suggestions by the defence that Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) was away from the village in question at the relevant time had not travelled beyond bald suggestions sans any proof whatsoever. The motive entertained by the appellant was not directly referable to the complainant so as to prompt him to falsely implicate the appellant in a case of this nature. It is a case of a single accused who happened to be a very close relative of the complainant, i,e,, a brother's son. There was no earthly reason why the complainant would substitute the appellant for the real culprit who had let loose all hell on the complainant's wife and minor daughters. A slight delay in lodging of the F.I.R., in this case was quite understandable keeping in view the distance of the police station from the place of occurrence and the condition of the injured members of the complainant's family. In this context we have appreciated that locally available first aid or medical treatment for his seriously injured members of the family must be the complainant's primary concern at that time. Thus, nothing in this case turns on the slight delay in reporting the matter to the police. Both the said witnesses had made consistent statements regarding the essential details of the main incident. They have, therefore, inspired our full confidence and we have found them to be worthy of implicit reliance on a capital charge.
14. The motive set up by the prosecution in this case was substantially conceded by the appellant himself. He had admitted in his statement recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C., that he got married to Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6)'s sister and then divorced her. Appreciating and inferring bitterness generated between the appellant and Mst. Kausar Bibi in the process, thus, did not require much straining of imagination. Sometimes probabilities based on normal human feelings and conduct attain the status of proof and necessary inferences can be drawn by a Court on their basis. This is so stipulated in Article 2(4) of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984. The present case surely presents one such example. In the absence of any other indication being available on the record as to why the appellant would commit such an aggression against Mst. Kausar Bibi, we are ready to infer that it was on the issue of his unhappy marital life ending in a divorce that the appellant was propelled into aggression against Mst. Kausar Bibi and her children. The motive set up by the prosecution had, therefore, provided corroboration to the ocular account if at all any corroboration was required.
15. The medical evidence produced by the prosecution was also in complete accord with the ocular evidence and the same had provided it full support in all the relevant particulars.
16. The stand taken by the appellant in his statement recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C., was one of denial simpliciter. The appellant had also failed to make a statement on oath under section 340(2), Cr.P.C. The statement made by Ahmad Bakhsh (D.W.1) has utterly failed to inspire our confidence. Ahmad Bakhsh (D.W.1) never claimed to be an eye-witness of the occurrence in question. It is true that he was a brother of Haji Muhammad Bakhsh complainant (P.W.5) but at the same time he was also a paternal uncle of the appellant. His interest in saving the skin of his nephew was, therefore, understandable. This was more so when his own statement unmistakably showed that he was not on the best of terms with the complainant. Recent bitterness developing between them over a suit for preemption filed by the complainant at D.W. 1 's bidding and its withdrawal by the complainant against D.W.1's wishes after accepting, a substantial amount of money from the opposite party was a sufficient pointer towards D.W.1 being bitter with the complainant. Apart from that Ahmad Bakhsh (D.W.1) had candidly admitted that he had never complained against the appellant's stated false involvement in this case before any police, executive or judicial authority at any stage of the case. His statement made before the learned Trial Court also showed that his information about innocence of the appellant and absence of the complainant from the village in question at the relevant time was based only upon a statement allegedly made by Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) before him in that regard. In this context we have significantly noticed that Mst. Kausar Bibi (P.W.6) was never questioned by the defence regarding making of any such statement by her before D.W.1. For all these reasons we have decided to altogether reject the deposition of Ahmad Bakhsh (D.W.1) after finding the same to be devoid of any serious credence.
17. For the reasons mentioned above we are convinced that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt and, therefore, we are minded to uphold the appellant's convictions recorded by the learned Trial Court.
18. We have also given our anxious consideration to the question of sentences to be passed against the appellant for the offences committed by him. In this context we are mindful of the fact that the appellant is a young man but at the same time it is undeniably true that he acted in a most callous, cruel and brutal manner. In quenching his thirst of vengeance against Mst. Kausar Bibi he did not even spare her minor daughters. According to the medical evidence available in this case the injuries caused to Mst. Kausar Bibi resulted in her permanent disfigurement and also permanent impairment of the functioning of her left ear. The acid burns caused by the appellant to Rehana Bibi deceased covered her whole face and entire body. Yasmeen Bibi also received acid burns covering her whole face and entire body. Her both eyes were also burnt. The said injuries had caused permanent disfigurement of her face and chest and had also permanently impaired the functioning of both her arms. Thus, the acid thrown by the appellant at his victims not only killed an innocent child but also caused permanent disfigurement of his other victims' bodies and, if we may say so, souls. Their disfigured faces and bodies would remain a living testimony to the appellant's criminality for the rest of their lives. We have, therefore, failed to find any mitigating circumstance in this case warranting lesser sentence for the appellant.
19. For the foregoing reasons Khadim Hussain appellant's appeal is hereby dismissed and his convictions and sentences recorded by the learned Trial Court are upheld and maintained with slight modifications to the effect that the fine imposed under section 302(b), P.P.C., shall be treated as an order of compensation payable to the heir of Rehana Bibi deceased under section 544-A, Cr.P.C., and in default of payment of compensation the appellant shall suffer S.I. For six months and that the sentences of imprisonment passed against the appellant for his convictions under sections 452, 324 and 336, P.P.C., shall run concurrently and he shall be entitled to the benefit under section 382-B, Cr.P.C., in that regard.
20. As the sentence of death passed by the learned Trial Court against Khadim Hussain appellant has been confirmed by us, therefore, Murder Reference No,192 of 1997 is hereby answered in the affirmative.