Muhammad Raqeel alias Raqeela was accused of firing two .30 bore pistol shots at Basharat Ali — a WAPDA employee and an Asian Gold Medalist wrestler — near the Stadium on Jhang Road, Toba Tek Singh, causing his death. The Lahore High Court had maintained the conviction in 2019. His Jail Petition No.196/2019, along with the complainant Jaffar Ali's Criminal Petition No.477-L/2019, came before the Supreme Court.
Heard on 10.08.2026 and announced on 24.09.2026 in a judgment approved for reporting, the Supreme Court — Mr. Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim authoring, with Mr. Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and Mr. Justice Salahuddin Panhwar — converted the Jail Petition into an appeal and allowed it, acquitting Raqeel on benefit of doubt with orders for release. The complainant's petition was rendered infructuous as to Raqeel and dismissed on merits insofar as it challenged the acquittal of co-accused Asif Masih and Bilal alias Daddu.
The Court found the prosecution case doubtful — the kind of doubt that is reasonable rather than fanciful. In a high-profile murder, the temptation is to let the victim's stature carry the conviction; the Court refused, testing the evidence on its own terms and finding it wanting.
The judgment's reporting approval signals its precedential value: even celebrated victims get no evidentiary discount for the prosecution. Mashhoor muqadma bhi saboot se jeeta jata hai, shorat se nahi — the state must prove, not presume.