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Gul Mir V. The State,

PCrLJ 2018 1216 · Balochistan High Court

This case involved a fatal shooting during a quarrel. According to the prosecution, the accused, Gul Mir, got into an argument with the deceased, Muhammad Azam, at a place called Killi Shah Nawaz. During the fight, Gul Mir allegedly fired a shotgun and killed Azam, after which people from both sides clashed and two more people were injured. The main evidence against the accused came from eyewitnesses who were relatives of the deceased.

The trial court had convicted the accused, but two judges of the Balochistan High Court disagreed on appeal - one favored acquittal, the other upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence from death to life imprisonment. Because of this disagreement, a third judge was asked to review the case and decide.

After examining the evidence, this judge found serious problems: the eyewitnesses were all closely related to the deceased, their accounts contradicted each other, and their behavior during the alleged attack did not make sense — none of them tried to intervene despite being present. No independent bystanders were presented as witnesses, even though people from the area had reportedly gathered at the scene. Additionally, police failed to recover the weapon or any shell casings, even though the accused was arrested at the scene, pointing to poor investigation.

Given these doubts, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and acquitted the accused, emphasizing that any reasonable doubt must benefit the accused as a matter of right, not just leniency.

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