Where the accused reaches a compromise with the heirs of the deceased in a Ta’zir case, this will result in a full compromise leading to acquittal despite the deceased’s other family members challenging the compromise agreement
Two co-accused persons were convicted under Section 302(b) of the PPC; one of them was sentenced to death whereas the other was sentenced to imprisonment for life. They challenged their convictions and sentences at the Lahore High Court.
During the pendency of their appeals, an application was filed before the Lahore High Court seeking their acquittal on the basis of a compromise between them and the heirs of the deceased. While the widow and the son of the deceased confirmed to the Court that they had agreed to a compromise, the father of the deceased denied the same. During the pendency of the application, the father of the deceased died, whereafter another application was filed seeking acquittal on grounds that the surviving heirs of the deceased had agreed to a compromise. The Lahore High Court accepted the accused person’s application and appeal and acquitted them.
The deceased’s brother, Muhammad Yousaf, filed an appeal before the Supreme Court on grounds that the deceased’s father’s heirs were ‘walis’ and the offence could not have been compounded without their concurrence. The Court stated that as the present case was of Ta’zir and not of Qisas, a different regime of criminal law applied whereby only the heirs of the victim were conferred with the power to compound. The murder of the deceased, therefore, could only be compounded by the heirs of the victim, which did not include the deceased’s brother, Muhammad Yousaf. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Lahore High Court and reaffirmed the compromise reached between the parties.
