Hidayatullah V. The State,
PLC (C.S) 2017 1273 · Balochistan High Court
This case involved a man, Hidayatullah, accused of murdering his wife after she stayed an extra night at her parents home. The trial court convicted him and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment plus payment of compensation (Diyat) to the victim's heirs. He appealed to the Balochistan High Court.
The High Court overturned the conviction and acquitted him, citing serious weaknesses in the prosecution's case. Key problems included a 25-day delay in reporting the death to police, during which the body was buried without medical examination, raising suspicion that family members may have deliberated before naming the accused. No physical evidence like blood-stained items or the murder weapon was recovered because of this delay. When the body was later exhumed for autopsy, it was too decomposed for doctors to properly verify the injuries witnesses claimed to have seen, creating a conflict between medical and eyewitness evidence. Additionally, the accused's confession to a magistrate was recorded 13 days after arrest, and the magistrate had improperly allowed an outsider connected to the complainant's family to remain in the room during recording, undermining its reliability.
The court concluded that no one had actually witnessed the crime, the evidence was riddled with contradictions, and the trial court had failed to properly assess these facts. This case highlights how delays in reporting crimes, lack of timely medical examination, and improper procedure in recording confessions can create reasonable doubt sufficient to overturn a murder conviction, reinforcing the principle that guilt must be proven beyond doubt.
یہ مقدمہ ہدایت اللہ نامی ایک شخص سے متعلق ہے جس پر اپنی بیوی کے قتل کا الزام تھا، اور یہ واقعہ اس وقت پیش آیا جب بیوی اپنے میکے میں ایک اضافی رات قیام کر آئی تھی۔ ٹرائل کورٹ نے اسے مجرم قرار دیتے ہوئے بیس سال قید کی سزا سنائی اور مقتولہ کے ورثاء کو دیت کی ادائیگی کا حکم بھی دیا۔ اس نے اس فیصلے کے خلاف بلوچستان ہائی کورٹ میں اپیل دائر کی۔
ہائی کورٹ نے سزا کو کالعدم قرار دیتے ہوئے ملزم کو بری کر دیا، اور اس کی وجہ استغاثہ کے مقدمے میں موجود سنگین کمزوریاں قرار دیں۔ اہم مسائل میں یہ شامل تھا کہ موت کی اطلاع پولیس کو دینے میں پچیس دن کی تاخیر ہوئی، اور اس دوران میت کو طبی معائنے کے بغیر ہی دفن کر دیا گیا، جس سے یہ شبہ پیدا ہوا کہ خاندان کے افراد نے ملزم کا نام لینے سے پہلے آپس میں مشورہ کیا ہو گا۔ اس تاخیر کے باعث خون آلود اشیاء یا قتل می