ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court reaffirmed the well-established principle that interference with a judgment of acquittal is an exceptional step and can only be justified when the prosecution demonstrates blatant errors of law or fact showing that the acquittal is manifestly flawed and based on shocking findings.
In a seven-page judgment written by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the Supreme Court observed that an acquittal carries a “double presumption of innocence” and that even a single circumstance creating reasonable doubt is sufficient to entitle an accused to the benefit of such doubt.
“It is not necessary that there be numerous consequences which give rise to doubts to justify the benefit for the accused; on the contrary, a single circumstance, if it creates a reasonable doubt, is sufficient to allow him to benefit from a benefit”, indicates the judgment.
The ruling came in a case involving two accused who were acquitted by a trial court. The Sindh High Court (SHC) subsequently set aside the acquittal and remanded the case back to the trial court for further 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 reasonably be drawn from the evidence in a criminal case, the conclusion in favor of acquittal should prevail.
The Court observed that an appellate court hearing an appeal against an acquittal should ordinarily refrain from interfering with the trial court’s findings because an acquittal reinforces the already existing presumption of innocence.
