' This judgment will dispose of Criminal Appeal No,1821 of 2001 filed by Mumtaz, Zohra, Mehr Ali and Hashmat, appellants, who were convicted and sentenced by learned Additional Sessions Jude, Okara vide his judgment dated 26-9-2001 under section 302(b), P.P.C. To undergo imprisonment for life each with the further direction to pay Rs,one lac each as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased, Mst. Daulat Bibi, Mst. Salabat Bibi and Mst. Parveen Bibi or in default six months' S.-I. With the benefit of section 382-B, Cr.P.C.
2. Brief facts of the case as disclosed by Shera complainant in the complaint Exh.P.A. Are that he is an agriculturist, he on 16-6-1997 at 130 p.m. Alongwith Mohabat, Manak, Mst. Muradan, Mst.
Bakhatawar alias Bakhat Bibi, Mst. Salabat Bibi, Mst. Daulat Bibi, Mst. Parveen Bibi were working on the agricultural land. Mst. Parveen and Mst. Muradan Bibi were grazing cattle nearby them. Abu-ul- Hassan, Walayat, Qutba, Noor Samand were returning from Thatha Jhedu after Qur'an Khawani when they reached near them Ghulam armed with gun .12 bore, Manzoor armed with rifle 7-MM, Noor armed with gun .12 bore, Mumtaz armed with gun .12 bore, Umer Hayat armed with rifle 7-MM, Zohra armed with gun .12 bore, Dossa armed with gun .12 bore, Zafar armed with gun .12 bore, Shera armed with gun .12 bore, Abbas armed with gun .12 bore, Maqbool armed with gun .12 bore, Wali Muhammad armed with .303 rifle, Bakhsha armed with .12 bore gun, Shera armed with gun .12 bore, Sarwar armed with gun .12 bore, Muhammad Nawaz armed with gun .12 bore, Liaqat Ali armed with gun .12 bore were working at thresher and were sitting in the way, by seeing the complainant etc., Wali Muhammad raised Lalkara that catch them and kill them. Manzoor fired with rifle and Mehran fired gun which hit Mst. Salabat Bibi and she fell down on the ground. Mumtaz fired with his gun which hit to Mst. Salabat Bibi, Umer Hayat fired with his rifle which hit Daulat Bibi and Daulat Bibi fell down on the ground. Hashmat fired with his gun which hit Mst. Parveen she too fell down on the ground. The complainant party laid down on the ground, Dossa, Zohra fired with their respective weapons which hit Mst. Daulat Bibi, Abbas fired which hit Bakhat Bibi and she fell down on the ground. Abu-ul-Hassan, Walayat, Noor Samand, Qutba fired in the self-defence. Wali Muhammad, Bashir, Shera, Maqbool, Sarwar, Shahadat, Sarfraz while raising "Lalkara" and firing went away when they saw the lot of people of the village coming towards the place of occurrence. Mst. Daulat Bibi, Mst. Salabat Bibi and Mst. Parveen Bibi died at the spot. Mst. Muradan Bibi and Mst. Bakhat became injured.
' Motive behind the occurrence was previous enmity of murders between the parties, due to the said reasons Wali Muhammad etc. Committed the murders of Mst. Salabat Bibi, Mst. Daulat Bibi and Parveen Bibi and injured Mst. Muradan Bibi and Bakhat Bibi.
3. For the said facts, the accused persons were charge-sheeted under sections 302, 324, 148, 149, 337-F (1-3), 337-A(1), P.P.C. Which they pleaded not guilty and claimed the trial.
4. At the trial, prosecution in order to prove its case produced 16 witnesses in all, thereafter, learned DDA, tendered in evidence reports of the Chemical-Examiner Exh.PK, Exh.PY, Exh.PZ, reports of the Serologist Exh.PAA, Exh.PBB, Exh.PCC, report of Forensic Science Laboratory Exh.PDD and closed the prosecution evidence then the statements of the appellants were recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C. In which they pleaded innocence and claimed false implication.
5. In support of this appeal, learned counsel for the appellants submits that appellants have been falsely implicated in this case, that there was previous background of enmity between the parties, that not a single independent witness was produced by the prosecution, that in all there were 18 accused, 11 were acquitted by the learned trial Court, two died during the trial, one Noor did not file any appeal before this. Court while the present appellants filed this appeal. He submits that all the deceased and injured P.W. Are women while the enmity was with the male members of the family of the complainant party, that it is unnatural that 18 accused fired indiscriminately but no male person had received any injury from the hands of the accused persons. He further submits that as far as three deceased ladies are concerned, Mst. Daulat Bibi was 70 years of age, Mst. Parveen Bibi was 11 years of age and mentally retarded girl while Mst. Salabat was 50 years of age and unmarried woman, that according to the prosecution case, Muradan Bibi and Bakhat Bibi injured P.Ws. Received fire-arm injuries but according to their medico-legal reports there were blunt weapon injuries on the persons of two injured P.Ws. So there is a clear conflict between ocular account and medical evidence. Adds that not a single empty was recovered from the spot, that if one goes to the inquest reports of the deceased, the dead bodies were recovered from the house of one Shahadat, who was witness in a case in which five persons of the appellants party were murdered. Learned counsel has also referred the statement of Manak P.W.3, who is an eye-witness and also admitted this fact that dead bodies of the deceased were recovered from the house of Shahadat, that as far as Mohabat Ali P.W.9 is concerned, he also stated before the learned trial Court that dead bodies of the three ladies deceased were taken into possession from the house of Shahadat and blood-stained earth was also taken into possession from underneath the cots where dead bodies were lying, that motive if any was against the male members of the complainant party, namely, Afzal, Adal, Nazal, and Qutba, that in fact on the same day, five persons from the side of the appellants were murdered and four persons were seriously injured and this fact has been suppressed in the present F.I.R. Lodged by Shera complainant, that it was the story of the prosecution that Daulat Bibi deceased received injuries with rifle but according to the doctor who conducted the post-mortem on the dead body of Daulat Bibi it was fired from .12 bore gun.
6. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State submits that all the appellants were named in the F.I.R., specific roles are attributed to them, that they have committed the murder of three ladies and caused injuries on two female ladies of the complainant party, that recovery of fire-arm were also effected from the appellants, that prosecution has proved its case against the appellants beyond any shadow of doubts. He supports the judgment of the learned trial Court.
7. I have heard learned counsel for the parties at a great length and have also gone through the evidence recorded by the learned trial Court. It has not been denied that five persons from the side of the appellants were murdered and four persons were injured but this fact has been suppressed by the prosecution. According to the F.I.R., occurrence had taken place in the fields of the appellants' party where thresher was installed and work was being done but according to the inquest reports of all the deceased persons, Column No,1 shows that dead bodies were found in the house of Shahadat, Manak son of Shera complainant P.W.3 admitted in his statement that dead bodies were taken into possession from the house of Shahadat which shows that occurrence had not taken place in the fields of the appellants as alleged by the prosecution then Mohabat Ali constable P.W.9 had admitted during the cross-examination that dead bodies were recovered from the house of Shahadat and bloodstained earth was taken into possession from underneath the cots where dead bodies were lying. Case of the prosecution was that 18 persons while armed with fire-arms fired indiscriminately at the spot but not a single empty was taken into possession from the spot. On the same set of evidence 11 accused have been acquitted by the learned trial Court, two died during the trial. It has come on record that there was previous enmity between the parties and in such-like matters independent corroboration is very necessary either to award conviction or to maintain the same then according to the F.I.R. Two ladies were also injured from the side of the complainant, namely, Bakhat Bibi and Muradan Bibi. Bakhat Bibi was not produced.
Muradan Bibi had appeared before the learned trial Court and according to the doctor who conducted medico-legal examination on- these two ladies, there were blunt weapon injuries on these two ladies which also falsify the prosecution case. It was the case of the prosecution that Daulat Bibi deceased received injury with rifle but according to the doctor who conducted post- mortem examination on the dead body of Daulat Bibi there was injury on her person with .12 bore gun, so there is clear conflict between ocular account and medical evidence.
8. After having hearing the learned counsel for the parties, going through the evidence recorded by the learned trial Court, I am not satisfied with the prosecution case, this case is full of doubts, the possibility of the version of the appellants during the trial and in their statements recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C., that these three ladies were murdered by the complainant party itself in order to justify the five murders which have taken place from the hands of the complainant party and also injured four persons.
9. The net result of the above discussion is that this appeal filed by the appellants is accepted. The conviction and sentence recorded against the appellants by the learned trial Court is set aside.
They are in jail and they shall be released forthwith if not required to be detained in any other case.
10. I may state here, that one of the accused, namely, Noor who was convicted and sentenced alongwith the present appellants has not filed any appeal before this Court, so, I while exercising my suo motu powers also acquit Noor Muhammad, convict. He shall be released forthwith, if not required to be detained in any other case.