Ahmad Nawaz Alias Babo vs The State
The petitioner Ahmad Nawaz alias Baboo sought post-arrest bail in case F.I.R. No. 313 dated 24.11.2005 registered under Section 412 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 at Police Station Laksian, District Sargodha, concerning the snatching of a car at gun-point. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to post-arrest bail given the recovery of the stolen vehicle from his possession and his criminal record. The Lahore High Court held that the petitioner was a habitual offender belonging to a gang, the stolen car stood recovered from him, and the offence fell within the prohibitory clause of Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. Consequently, the court dismissed the petition, establishing that bail may be refused to a habitual offender involved in multiple criminal cases where the alleged offence falls within the prohibitory clause and incriminating recovery is linked to the accused.
- Is an accused entitled to post-arrest bail when a stolen vehicle is recovered from his possession?
- Does an offence under Section 412 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Can previous criminal involvement and being a habitual offender be ground for refusing bail?
- Section 412, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 550, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Section 497(1), Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER M. BILAL KHAN, J.- Ahmad Nawaz alias Baboo son of Muhammad Ashraf, the petitioner, by filing the instant petition seeks post-arrest bail in case F.I.R. No. 313, dated 24.11.2005, registered at Police Station, Laksian, District Sargodha for an offence under Section 412, P.P.C., at the instance of Syed Aqeel Haider Shah son of Syed Muhammad Afzal Shah.
2. Precisely the allegation against the petitioner was that on 25.5.2005 he alongwith his. Two co- accused had snatched a car bearing registration No. LZN-944 belonging to the complainant from his brother Mudassar at gun-point, when the same had been parked outside the Family Clinic near National Laboratory, Jail Road, Faisalabad.
3. The petitioner's plea for post-arrest bail had been turned down initially by the learned Magistrate Section 30; Bhalwal and thereafter by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Bhalwal, vide orders dated 20.2.2006 and 11.3.2006, respectively. Hence, the instant petition.
4. I have heard the learned counsel for both the sides at considerable length and have also gone through the record brought by Muhammad Bashir Tahir, SI.
5. It has been observed that although the petitioner has not been nominated in the F.I.R., but it is on record that the aforesaid car stood recovered from him and two others from the Dera of one Noor Hayat son of Bati, which had been taken into custody by the police under Buffon 550, Cr.P.C, it is on record that he is involved in as many as twelve criminal cases, out of which five were under Section 412, P.P.C, From perusal of the record, it appears that the petitioner being a member of the gang is' a habitual offender. The offence with which he has been charged for the time being falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497(1), Cr.P.C. The learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to persuade me to take a view different from the one taken by the Courts below.
6. Resultantly, there being no merit in this petition, the same is dismissed.