PLD 2020 SC 201
DownLoad Link PFD : https://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/downloads_judgements/crl.a._154_l_2013.pdf
The Court was concerned, in the case, mainly with two legal questions: whether the prosecution is absolved of its duty to prove its case against the accused when he takes a defence plea and the onus shifts on the accused under article 121, QSO? And whether an accused can be convicted on the basis of his admission made in statement under section 342, CrPC? The Court answered the first question in negative and the second in affirmative. The Court held: “Burden is always on the prosecution to prove its case and it is only when a prima facie case is made out against the accused sufficient to justify his conviction, does the burden shift upon the accused under Article 121 of the QSO…If the prosecution fails to prove its case against the accused, the question of shifting of burden upon the accused does not arise.” The Court dispelled the impression created by the judgment of a two-member Bench in Feroze v. State (2008 SCMR 696) that the prosecution evidence needs not to be appraised in a case where the accused has taken a defence plea, and reinforced the law earlier declared by the larger Benches, by enunciating thus: “The prosecution is duty bound to prove its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of its own evidence and is not absolved of this duty even if the accused has taken a defence plea.”
5. Ali Ahmad v. State PLD 2020 SC 201
DownLoad Link PFD : https://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/downloads_judgements/crl.a._154_l_2013.pdf
Present Mr. Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Mr. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah
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