| Case ID |
42e0bfe2-d058-4034-b9fd-dffa34debd67 |
| Body |
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| Case Number |
Criminal Appeal No.355 of 1994 |
| Decision Date |
Jan 17, 2001 |
| Hearing Date |
|
| Decision |
The appeal of Ziaul Rehman was allowed and the judgment of the High Court was set aside. Consequently, the conviction and sentence of the appellant were also set aside. The court emphasized the importance of corroborative evidence in criminal cases, noting that one weak piece of evidence cannot support another. The extrajudicial confession made by the appellant was insufficient to uphold the conviction as it lacked corroboration from other reliable evidence. The delay of 266 days in filing the appeal was condoned to prevent grave injustice to the accused. |
| Summary |
In the case of Ziaul Rehman v. The State, the Supreme Court of Pakistan addressed critical issues concerning the appreciation of evidence, particularly the need for corroboration in criminal cases. The appellant was previously convicted for the murder of his two minor children and sentenced to death. However, the High Court had reduced the death sentence to life imprisonment while maintaining the conviction. The Supreme Court found that the prosecution's reliance on extrajudicial confessions and weak evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. The court ruled that the absence of corroborative evidence necessitated the acquittal of the accused. This case highlights the judicial standards for evidence in criminal law and the significance of procedural fairness in ensuring justice. Keywords: criminal law, extrajudicial confession, evidence corroboration, Supreme Court of Pakistan, legal standards, justice system. |
| Court |
Supreme Court of Pakistan
|
| Entities Involved |
Not available
|
| Judges |
MUHAMMAD BASHIR,
JEHANGIRI,
SH. IJAZ NISAR,
MAMOON KAZI
|
| Lawyers |
Muhammad Javed Aziz Sandhu,
Malik Ainul Haq
|
| Petitioners |
ZIAUL REHMAN
|
| Respondents |
THE STATE
|
| Citations |
2001 SLD 1494,
2001 SCMR 1405
|
| Other Citations |
Not available
|
| Laws Involved |
Penal Code (XLV of 1860),
Qanune Shahadat (10 of 1984),
Limitation
|
| Sections |
302,
40,
|