Muhammad Aslam vs The State, etc_
This criminal appeal arises from the dismissal of a second post-arrest bail petition by the Lahore High Court. The core legal question concerns the maintainability of a successive bail petition filed before the High Court without disclosing any fresh grounds, particularly after an earlier bail petition had been argued at some length and dismissed as withdrawn. Relying on the precedent in Nazir Ahmed and another v. The State and others (PLD 2014 SC 241), the Supreme Court held that a successive bail petition filed without fresh grounds is not maintainable when the previous petition was withdrawn after arguments. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.
- Whether a second post-arrest bail petition is maintainable when the first petition was dismissed as withdrawn after being argued at some length?
- Does a successive bail petition require fresh grounds for its admission after the withdrawal of a prior petition?
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 issues 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for his post-arrest bail in the present criminal case had been dismissed by the Lahore High Court, Lahore ashaving been withdrawn vide order dated 23.10.2012 after the learned counsel for the appellant had argued the case at some length but had remained unable to persuade the said Court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 self-same 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 07.06.2013. This appeal is, therefore, dismissed.