MUHAMMAD ASLAM vs The STATE and others
This criminal appeal arose from the dismissal of the appellant's second post-arrest bail application by the Lahore High Court. The appellant's first bail application had been dismissed as withdrawn after arguments on the merits failed to persuade the High Court. The appellant subsequently filed a second bail application seeking the same relief without disclosing any fresh grounds. The Supreme Court of Pakistan considered whether a second bail application is maintainable under such circumstances. Relying on its established precedent, the Court held that a second bail application seeking the selfsame relief is not maintainable in the absence of any fresh grounds. Consequently, the Supreme Court found no legal error in the High Court's dismissal of the second application and dismissed the appeal.
- Is a second petition for post-arrest bail maintainable if the first petition was dismissed as withdrawn after arguments on the merits?
- Can a subsequent bail application seeking the same relief be entertained without disclosing any fresh grounds?
' ASIF SAEED KHAN KHOSA, J.---After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and going through the record we find that the questions posed and the issues raised in the leave granting order dated 26-11-2013 already stand exhaustively answered and resolved in the judgment handed down by this Court in the case of Nazir Ahmed and another v. The State and others PLD 2014 SC 241. No further consideration of the said questions and issue has been found by us to be called for at this stage.
2. It is not disputed that the first petition for bail (Criminal Miscellaneous No,12657-B of 2013) filed by the appellant for his post-arrest bail in the present criminal case had been dismissed by the Lahore High Court, Lahore as having bean withdrawn vide order dated 23-10-2012 after the learned counsel for the appellant had argued the case at some length but had remained unable to persuade the said Court to grant bail to the appellant. The second petition filed by the appellant (Criminal Miscellaneous No,5422-B of 2013) seeking the selfsame relief did not disclose any fresh ground for admission of the appellant to bail and, thus, in view of the law declared by this Court in the case of Nazir Ahmed and another (supra) the said second petition filed by the appellant before the Lahore High Court, Lahore was not maintainable. In this view of the matter we have not been able to take any legitimate exception to the impugned order passed by the learned Judge-in- Chamber of the Lahore High Court, Lahore on 7-6-2013. This appeal is, therefore dismissed.