FAISAL HUSSAIN BUTT vs THE STATE and another

' SYED SAKHI HUSSAIN BOKHARI, J.- Faisal Hussain Butt has filed this petition for leave to appeal against the judgment, dated 27-5-2008 passed by Lahore High Court, Lahore whereby Writ Petition No,1265 of 2008 brought by him was dismissed.

2. Relevant facts for the disposal of this petition are that petitioner is facing trial in a Reference (No,38 of 2007) filed by NAB. He was arrested in the said case. He filed writ petition for grant of post- arrest bail. According to prosecution case petitioner along with his co-accused misappropriated Rs,298.000 million from Allied Bank Limited, Stock Exchange Branch, Civil Line, Lahore. Before the Reference, case F.I.R. No,1040 was registered at Police Station Civil Line, Lahore under sections 409, 420, 468, 471 and 477-A, P.P.C. On 24-9-2006 at the instance of Farrukh Faheem Ansari, Chief Manager of the aforesaid Branch. According to F.I.R., the said amount is tentative in nature. The petitioner was serving as Incharge C.D. Department in the said Branch. Learned High Court dismissed the writ petition brought by petitioner vide impugned judgment. Hence this petition for leave to appeal.

3. We have heard the arguments of learned counsel for the parties and perused the available record. As mentioned above, the allegation against the petitioner is that he along with his co- accused misappropriated huge amount (Rs,298.000 million) from Allied Bank Limited where he was serving as Incharge C.D. Department. The main ground for bail is delay in trial. Admittedly his co- accused (Tasneem Akhtar, Faisal Hussain Butt, Saghir lqbal Goraya and Tahir Awais) with similar allegation are in judicial lock-up and facing trial. Learned Senior Prosecutor-General, NAB/respondent No,2 submits that petitioner and afore-mentioned co-accused opened accounts of various persons and prepared forged record and obtained about rupees twelve crores through on line process from different Branches of the country without depositing any amount. Further submits that case is fixed on 17-11-2008 for trial. In these circumstances, we do not find it a fit case for grant of bail to the petitioner. The impugned judgment is just and proper. Learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to point out any illegality or infirmity in the impugned judgment so as to warrant interference by this Court. As such this petition has no force which is accordingly dismissed and leave refused. However, learned trial Court is directed to decide the case within five months under intimation to the Deputy Registrar of this Court at Lahore Branch Registry. It is made clear that if case is not decided within aforesaid period, the petitioner may file fresh writ petition for bail before learned High Court.