Abdul Aziz V. The State,
PCr.LJ 2025 824 · Balochistan High Court
This case comes from the Balochistan High Court, deciding a criminal appeal alongside an automatic reference on a death sentence. Abdul Aziz was convicted of murdering his father-in-law and wounding his mother-in-law during a family dispute. The incident occurred when the appellant insisted on taking his wife and children with him, but his father-in-law asked him to wait a day since his mother-in-law was unwell. The appellant responded by opening fire with a pistol, fatally wounding his father-in-law and injuring his mother-in-law.
The court examined the evidence carefully, including the dying declaration made by the father-in-law (recorded by police before he died), eyewitness testimony from the injured mother-in-law, and corroborating testimony from the couple's son, along with medical reports confirming firearm injuries. The court explained that dying declarations carry special weight since a dying person is unlikely to lie, but still require scrutiny; here, medical certification confirmed the victim was conscious and fit to make his statement. The court also addressed the defence argument that witnesses were "interested" because they were relatives, ruling that family relationship alone does not disqualify a witness's credible testimony.
Finding the prosecution's case proven beyond reasonable doubt, the court upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence from death to life imprisonment due to mitigating circumstances, dismissing the appeal with this modification. The case illustrates how Pakistani courts evaluate dying declarations and witness credibility in serious crimes.
یہ مقدمہ بلوچستان ہائی کورٹ سے تعلق رکھتا ہے جس میں عدالت نے ایک فوجداری اپیل کا فیصلہ سزائے موت کے خودکار حوالہ جات (ریفرنس) کے ساتھ ملا کر سنایا۔ عبدالعزیز کو اپنے سسر کے قتل اور ساس کو زخمی کرنے کے جرم میں مجرم قرار دیا گیا تھا، یہ واقعہ ایک خانگی تنازع کے دوران پیش آیا۔ معاملہ اس وقت شروع ہوا جب مدعا علیہ نے اصرار کیا کہ وہ اپنی بیوی اور بچوں کو اپنے ساتھ لے جائے گا، جبکہ اس کے سسر نے درخواست کی کہ ایک دن انتظار کر لیا جائے کیونکہ ساس کی طبیعت ناساز تھی۔ اس پر مدعا علیہ نے پستول سے فائرنگ کر دی، جس کے نتیجے میں سسر جاں بحق ہو گئے اور ساس زخمی ہو گئیں۔
عدالت نے تمام شواہد کا بغور جائزہ لیا، جن میں سسر کا بیانِ احتضار (جو پولیس نے ان کی وفات سے پہلے ریکارڈ کیا تھا)، زخمی ساس کی چشم دید گواہی، اور میاں بیوی کے بیٹے کی تائیدی گواہی شامل تھی، نیز میڈیکل رپورٹس بھی جنہوں نے آتشیں اسلحے سے زخموں