PLD 2018 SUPREME-COURT 813
MUHAMMAD ABID VS State
S. 302---Qatl-i-amd---'Last seen evidence'---Meaning and principles---Theory of Last seen together was one where two persons were 'seen together' alive and after an interval of time, one of them was found alive and the other dead---Where the period between the two was short, presumption could be drawn that the person alive was the author of the other's death---Time gap between the sighting and the occurrence should be such as to rule out possibility of somebody else committing the crime---Foundation of the "Last seen together" theory was based on principles of probability and cause and connection and required cogent reasons that the deceased in normal and ordinary course was supposed to accompany the accused; proximity of the crime scene; small time gap between the sighting and crime; no possibility of third person interference; motive; and time of death of victim---Circumstance of the deceased being Last seen in the company of the accused was not by itself sufficient to sustain the charge of murder, but there must be evidence to link the accused with the murder of his companion, such as incriminating facts as recovery, strong motive and the proximate time when they were Last seen together and the time when the deceased was killed---Last seen evidence as circumstantial evidence must be incompatible with the innocence of the accused and should be accepted with great caution, and it must be scrutinized minutely so that no plausible conclusion should be drawn therefrom except guilt of the accused
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