“After hearing the learned counsel for the
appellant and the learned Additional ProsecutorGeneral, Punjab appearing for the State and
having gone through the record of the case with
their assistance it has straightaway been observed
by us that both the learned courts below had
rejected the version of the prosecution in its
entirety and had then proceeded to convict and
sentence the appellant on the sole basis of his
statement recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C.
wherein he had advanced a plea of grave and
sudden provocation. It had not been appreciated
by the learned courts below that the law is quite
settled by now that if the prosecution fails to prove
its case against an accused person then the
accused person is to be acquitted even if he had
taken a plea and had thereby admitted killing the
deceased. A reference in this respect may be made
to the case of Waqar Ahmad v. Shaukat Ali and
others (2006 SCMR 1139). The law is equally
settled that the statement of an accused person
recorded under section 342, Cr.P.C. is to be
accepted or rejected in its entirety and where the
prosecution’s evidence is found to be reliable and
the exculpatory part of the accused person’s
statement is established to be false and is to be
excluded from consideration then the inculpatory
part of the accused person’s statement may be
read in support of the evidence of the prosecution.
This legal position stands amply demonstrated in
the cases of Sultan Khan v. Sher Khan and others
(PLD 1991 SC 520), Muhammad Tashfeen and
others v. the State and others (2006 SCMR 577)
and Faqir Muhammad and another v. the State
(PLD 2011 SC 796). It is unfortunate that the
Lahore High Court, Lahore had failed to apply the
said settled law to the facts of the case in hand”
(2013 SCMR 383)
Used in Judgment of:
Lahore High Court
Criminal Appeal
471-12
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