The deceased's mother alleged that Umar Hayat fired a Kalashnikov burst at Shabbir Hussain, killing him. The Lahore High Court had upheld the conviction in Criminal Appeal No.15-J of 2017. Umar Hayat's Jail Petition No.501/2020 and the complainant Ayesha Bibi's Criminal Petition No.1488-L/2020 (against the High Court's acquittal of co-accused) both reached the Supreme Court.
Heard on 13.08.2026 and announced on 24.09.2026, the Supreme Court's judgment — 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: Umar Hayat was acquitted on benefit of doubt and ordered released. The complainant's petition was dismissed with leave refused.
The acquittal rested on a collapse of the prosecution's pillars. The medical evidence was inconsistent with the FIR's version of a Kalashnikov burst; key prosecution witnesses (PW-13 and PW-6) turned hostile; and the only eyewitness who still supported the prosecution had a doubtful presence at the scene. A murder conviction cannot stand on a single shaky witness contradicting the medical record.
The case is a textbook on why corroboration matters. FIR likh dena kaafi nahi — the story in the FIR must match the wounds on the body and survive cross-examination. When the doctor's report and the witnesses part ways, the benefit of that parting goes to the accused.