ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the established principle that interference with an acquittal is an exceptional procedure and can only be justified when the prosecution demonstrates egregious errors of law or fact that demonstrate that the acquittal is manifestly defective and based on shocking conclusions.
In a seven-page judgment written by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the top court observed that an acquittal carries a “double presumption of innocence” and that even a single circumstance creating a reasonable doubt is enough to entitle an accused person to the benefit of that doubt.
“It is not mandatory that there be numerous consequences that give rise to doubts to justify the benefit to the accused; rather, a single circumstance, if it creates reasonable doubt, is sufficient to allow a benefit,” the ruling says.
The ruling came in a case involving two defendants who had been acquitted by a lower court. The Sindh High Court subsequently quashed the acquittal and remanded the matter to the trial court for initiation of fresh proceedings in accordance with law.
The accused challenged the SHC order in the Supreme Court.
A division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar held that when two sensible and judicious conclusions can be drawn from the evidence in a criminal case, the conclusion favoring acquittal must prevail.
The court observed that an appellate court hearing an appeal against an acquittal should normally refrain from interfering with the findings of the trial court because an acquittal strengthens the presumption of innocence already existing.
