IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Appellate Jurisdiction) 
 
 
PRESENT: 
Mr. Justice Mushir Alam 
Mr. Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed 
Mr. Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan 
 
 
 
Criminal Petition No.549 of 2020  
(Against the order dated 5.6.2020 passed by the Lahore 
High Court Lahore in Crl. Misc. No.19465-B/2020) 
 
 
Babar Nadeem 
 
…Petitioner(s) 
 
 
 
 
 
Versus 
 
The State through P.G. Punjab and another   
 
…Respondent(s) 
 
 
For the Petitioner(s): 
Mr. Naveed Ahmed Khawaja, ASC 
 
For the State: 
Mirza Abid Majeed,  
 
Additional 
Prosecutor 
General 
Punjab  
along with Tana Tanvir, SHO, M. Akram, 
I/O. 
 
For the Respondent(s): 
Nemo  
 
Date of hearing: 
21.07.2020. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ORDER 
 
 
      Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.- Manzoor Ahmed, deceased, 
was done to death by two unknown assailants, inside his house, located 
within the remit of Police Station Saddar Arifwala, District Pakpattan at 
9:00 p.m. on 17.2.2020; they vanished into the darkness; identified as 
assassins Muhammad Din, Muhammad Latif and Tanvir Hussain were 
subsequently arrested under section 54 on 29.2.2020; it is upon their 
disclosure that Babar Nadeem, petitioner along with two others was taken 
on board as amongst the abettors behind the scene; one of them, namely, 
Naveed has since been let off from the array. As the investigation 
progressed, the Investigating Officer recorded statements of Sher 
Muhammad and Muhammad Shahbaz PWs on 18.2.2020; according to 
them, they had seen the petitioner along with two others, shortly before the 
 Criminal Petition No.549 of 2020  
2
occurrence, an information that they statedly conveyed to the complainant 
after the occurrence. It is through these statements that the prosecution 
also introduced the motive that related to a brawl between the parties 4/5 
months prior to the incident. 
2. 
 
Heard. Record perused. 
3. 
 
Argument that in the absence of any legal evidence there was 
no occasion for the Courts below to deny judicial protection to the 
petitioner in the face of mala fide vividly lurking behind the intended arrest 
warrants serious consideration. We would refrain to comment upon the 
absence of abettors’ name in the crime report despite their having been 
spotted by the witnesses, shortly before the tragedy struck a small rural 
neighbourhood i.e. Chak No.72-EB, nonetheless, the omission by itself 
brings petitioner’s culpability within the purview of subsection 2 of section 
497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898; combined with exoneration of 
Naveed from the list of abettors, argued as mutually destructive with the 
hypothesis of conspiracy, does admit space to contemplate considerations 
for arrest other than being noble; a case for judicial protection stands made 
out. Petition is converted into appeal and allowed; ad interim bail granted 
vide order dated 8.7.2020 is confirmed upon furnishing a bond in the sum 
of Rs.500,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the 
trial Court.  
 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
Judge 
 
 
 
Judge 
Islamabad, the 
21st July, 2020 
Not approved for reporting 
Ghulam Raza/- 
