IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah 
Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
 
 
Criminal Appeal No. 270-L of 2012 
(Against the judgment dated 29.09.2010 passed by the 
Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Appeal No. 
1356/2002 and Murder Reference No. 561/2002) 
 
 
Wajeeh-ul-Hassan 
 
 
…Appellant 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
 
The State  
…Respondent 
 
 
For the appellant: 
Syed Almas Haider Kazmi, ASC 
 
Sheikh Masood Akhtar, AOR 
 
  
For the State: 
Mr. Muhammad Amjad Rafiq,  
 
Additional Prosecutor-General, 
  
Punjab   
 
 
 
 
For the complainant: 
Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Ch. ASC 
 
Date of hearing: 
25.09.2019. 
 
JUDGMENT 
 
 
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J. Wajeeh-ul-Hassan, 
appellant, is in receipt of a guilty verdict; tried by a learned 
Additional Sessions Judge at Lahore, he was convicted for offences 
under Sections 295-A, 295-C & 298-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, 
1860 and returned penalty of death alongwith imprisonments on 
allied charges, vide judgment dated 27-7-2002; the High Court 
vide judgment dated 29.9.2010 confirmed penalty of death, vires 
whereof, are being challenged by leave of the Court.  
2. 
 
Muhammad Ismail Qureshi (PW-6), an Advocate by 
profession, was dispatched letters with a penname by an 
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2
anonymous mailer carrying blasphemous contents; it is alleged 
that he was targeted with incendiary material for his contributions 
towards enforcement of blasphemy laws in the country, allegedly,  
a source of annoyance to the minority groups; he burnt the letters 
and it is subsequent thereto that he received letters P-1 to P-5 in 
two envelopes P-6 & P-7, last purportedly written by Umar Nawaz 
Butt with a copy of appellant’s National Identity Card P-8; it is at 
this point of time that the witness approached the local police for 
registration of case which is finally registered on the intervention of 
the High Court. Formal First Information Report was registered on 
21-3-1999 by Attiq-ur-Rehman SI (PW-4) who commenced the 
investigation, in pursuance whereto, he secured photocopies of 
letters P-9, P-10, P-11, P-12 & P-13 purportedly attested by the 
complainant alongside a copy of appellant’s National Identity Card 
P-14, however, without inventory. By this time, the prosecution 
had made up his mind against the appellant considering him the 
culprit behind the obnoxious mail; the belief is based upon the 
copy of National Identity Card, according to the prosecution, 
dispatched by no other than the appellant himself. A proclamation 
for appellant’s arrest was issued on 28.1.2001; he was proceeded 
against under Section 512 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 
to be finally arrested on 21.5.2001, allegedly when produced by 
Muhammad Wasim (PW-1) and Muhammad Naveed (PW-2), the 
witnesses of extrajudicial confession, and it is subsequent thereto 
that the complainant produced impugned five letters with two 
envelops and a photocopy of appellant’s National Identity Card as 
late as on 25.5.2001. Saeed Khursheed Ahmed, Judicial Magistrate 
(PW-8) took specimen of appellant’s handwriting, both in English 
as well as Urdu on 28.5.2001 for comparison with the impugned 
letters, an exercise undertaken by Muhammad Bashir Qureshi 
(PW-9). According to his analysis, writings on the impugned letters 
and the specimens ‘BEAR IDENTICAL CHARACTERSTICS’. It is on 
this strength of evidence that the appellant was sent to face trial, 
on conclusion whereof, besides relying upon an edict Mark ‘A’ 
issued by a Seminary at Khushab, confirming him as a faithful, he 
took the following plea:- 
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3
“I and my father was working in the office of Asma 
Jehangir husband. After sometime I left the said 
office and joined Crown Steel Industries where 
Waseem Mughal was Manager. After serving in the 
said factory for sometime, I left my job to join Tabliq-
e-jamat for four months. During my day in the said 
factory Waseem Mughal PW asked me that he would 
introduced me with someone for a meeting. I was 
called by Waseem Mughal, PW on telephone 15 days 
prior to my arrest at his home. When I reached his 
home, Naveed PW, one Mustafa Advocate and another 
unknown person was present there apart from 
himself. All those persons took me to  Lahore Cantt 
area and tortured me. I was shown few letters by 
those persons and I was forced to admit that those 
letters were written by Asma Jehangir. Upon my 
refusal, those persons brought me to Allama Iqbal 
Town Police Station where Ismail Qureshi was 
already present. After making some entry the 
Moharar of Police Station showed my arrest. The 
motive was that a FIR was got registered by Asma 
Jehangir/Hina Jillani, her sister against Muhammad 
Ismail Qureshi, the complainant of this case. He had 
grudge against them. The complainant wanted me to 
involve Asma Jehangir/Hina Jillani, in this false 
case. The PWs have deposed against me at the 
instance of the complainant and the PWs were 
member of some youth force headed by him.” 
 
Position though vigorously taken by the appellant, nonetheless, 
failed to impress upon the courts below. It has once again been 
reiterated on appellant’s behalf with considerable vehemence; it is 
argued that in the face of appellant’s stance, evidence adduced by 
the prosecution being inherently flawed, weak and discrepant 
merited outright rejection. It is hardly sufficient to sustain ultimate 
irreversible corporal penalty of death, concluded the learned 
counsel. The learned Law Officer assisted by learned counsel for 
the complainant faithfully defended the impugned judgment by 
arguing that the complainant, a senior lawyer, had no axe to grind 
and it is simply unthinkable that he would fabricate impugned 
Criminal Appeal No. 270-L of 2012 
4
letters, with most repugnant contents, to hound the appellant on 
mere suspicion; according to them, evidence of extrajudicial 
confession and report of handwriting expert excluded every 
hypothesis of appellant’s innocence; absconsion has been relied 
upon as independent corroboration.  
3. 
 
We have gone through the letters with nauseatic 
difficulty; their contents are most grievously blasphemous, 
however, whether the appellant authored and dispatched these 
letters and the complainant received them in the manner as 
alleged in the crime report and that whether extrajudicial 
confession supported by expert’s report constitute sufficient 
evidence to hand down penalty of death are the issues altogether 
different. Penalty of death being irreversible warrants caution in 
the highest degree, before a convict is dispatched to the gallows. 
With these considerations, we have carefully examined each piece 
of prosecution evidence in juxtaposition with the appellant’s 
position. The foremost question is the identity of the mailer; it is 
prosecution’s own case that an anonymous writer with a penname 
as Murshid Masih addressed the letters; he surreptitiously 
concealed his identity throughout and the complainant in the 
crime report suspected minority groups behind the mischief; in the 
string of communication it is last letter P-5  with a different name 
accompanied by a photostate copy of appellant’s National Identity 
Card; this is how the prosecution finally discovered mailer’s 
identity. We have found it most intriguing as to why the appellant 
who consistently hid himself over a long period of time, finally 
dispatched a copy of National Identity Card so as to voluntarily 
rope himself in a case that may well cost him his neck; there 
appears no earthly reason for his choice; if at all, it is assumed 
that he was on a suicidal course, he could have simply mentioned 
his identity in the letters or could come forward, as according to 
the prosecution, he presented himself on 21-5-2001. This aspect of 
the prosecution case is antithetical to appellant’s journey into the 
safety of disappearance; the dichotomy is irreconcilable and even 
with the most lax standard of appreciation of evidence on the 
touchstone of probability, the prosecution is bound to fail. 
Criminal Appeal No. 270-L of 2012 
5
Evidence of extrajudicial confession, universally regarded as 
inherently weak, does not present a brighter picture either; why 
the appellant would make his breast clean to embrace formidable 
consequences by abandoning his safe anonymity, in the absence of 
any incriminatory evidence thenceforth, is really mindboggling. 
According to Muhammad Waseem (PW-1), the appellant worked in 
his brother’s factory and had long left the job, “on account of 
suspicious ideas” and he called the witness month before asking 
for a meeting “in connection with an important work”. On  
21-5-2001, the witness is joined per chance by Muhammad Naveed 
(PW-2) before whom the appellant sought the help for a patch up 
with the complainant as well as their assistance to appear before 
the police. The witness admitted that he did not know the 
complainant of the case and also that Muhammad Naveed (PW-2) 
joined him after travelling 10-kilometers to attend a Mehfil-e-Milad, 
scheduled at a different venue and it in this backdrop that both 
the witnesses took pain to bring the appellant, unscathed, all the 
way to Moon Market, Iqbal Town, Lahore where Shahzad Kamal SI 
(PW-10) was on a patrol duty, incidentally seized with the 
investigation of the case. Appellant’s visit to Muhammad Waseem 
(PW-1) shortly after arrival of Muhammad Naveed (PW-2), his 
exhaustive and comprehensive disclosure, subsequent journey to a 
place other than police station and per chance encounter with the 
Investigating Officer on patrol duty, seized with the same case in a 
most populous metropolis, in a flawless sequential order, are the 
events that cannot be believed to have occurred, without being 
naively imprudent. There are other reasons to view these witnesses 
with suspicion on account of their own narrative that the appellant 
had already left the factory for his ‘suspicious ideas’, therefore, he 
could not possibly risk a visit without being out of mind; they are 
discrepant as well, as according to the complainant, the mailer was 
a converted Christian, named as Murshid Masih whereas according 
to the witnesses of extrajudicial confession, the appellant was a 
converted Ahmadi. The entire script is preposterous to say the 
least. Next piece of evidence is forensic report (Ex.PF) derived on 
the basis of comparison of handwriting specimens with letters P-1 
Criminal Appeal No. 270-L of 2012 
6
to P-5, received by the complainant in two envelopes P-6 & P-7. It 
is prosecution case that the complainant set ablaze entire mail 
initially received by him, however, retained the above material with 
him, last received on 21-10-1998. Postal envelopes P-6 & P-7 
contradict the complainant as the stamp affixed thereon suggests 
date, month and year other than month of October; these do not 
accommodate the sheets of paper without having been folded with 
permanent marks, conspicuously missing. This material had been 
handed over to the police after appellant’s arrest without any 
plausible explanation as to why the complainant retained the 
inflammatory material with him for a period exceeding two years; 
these anomalies put us on caution. Evidence of handwriting expert 
is judicially viewed as inherently weak. Reference is made to the 
cases reported as Mamtaj Ali Versus The State (PLD 1961 Dacca 
573), Saeed Ahmed Versus The State (PLD 2003 SC 389), Syed 
Muhammad Umer Shah Versus The State (2004 SCMR 1859), 
Mst. Saadat Sultan and others Versus Muhammad Zahur Khan 
and others (2006 SCMR 196) and Qazi Abdul Ali and others 
Versus Khawaja Aftab Ahmad (2015 SCMR 184). 
 
It is by now well settled that a weak piece of evidence cannot 
corroborate another weak piece of evidence.  
 
Absconsion cannot be viewed as a proof for the crime. People 
stay away from law for a variety of reasons not necessarily 
compatible with the hypothesis of guilt; to avoid the impending 
wrath of opponents in hostile environments, more often than not 
compel even the innocent into recusal of safety.  
 
We cannot dismiss appellant’s plea of being a faithful 
Muslim nor can possibly take exception, in the absence of evidence 
to the contrary to his acclaimed unflinching conviction in the 
injunctions of his faith. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of 
Pakistan, 1973 guarantees freedom to an individual to hold and 
profess faith of his choice; in his divine pursuits, he is sovereign 
and there is no intermediary between his soul and its Comforter, 
therefore, appellant’s declaration of faith is to be preferred over 
divergent imputations. Citizen regardless of religion are equal 
Criminal Appeal No. 270-L of 2012 
7
before law and entitled to equal protection thereof and it is so 
guaranteed under the Constitution. A criminal charge is to be 
essentially settled on positive proof alone and not on perceptional 
or optical paradigms; the same is required in the present case, 
nonetheless, hopelessly out of sight. It would be grievously unsafe 
to maintain the conviction without potential risk of error, therefore, 
by extending benefit of the doubt, Criminal Appeal is allowed; the 
impugned judgment is set aside; appellant is acquitted of the 
charges and shall be released forthwith, if not required in any 
other case.  Office shall ensure destruction of entire derogatory 
material and copies thereof, at all tiers.  
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
Islamabad/Video Link at Lahore 
25th September, 2019 
Not approved for reporting 
Azmat/-  
 
