Ghulam Yasin vs The State, etc.
The petitioner sought pre-arrest bail in a case registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 for the alleged murder of his 16/17-year-old daughter in the name of honour. The core legal question was whether pre-arrest bail could be granted in an honour killing case where legal heirs had purportedly pardoned the accused. The Lahore High Court dismissed the petition, holding that pre-arrest bail is an extraordinary remedy that cannot be extended to an accused facing a prima facie case of murder, particularly when the offence is heinous, affects the society at large, and falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. The Court laid down that a compromise or waiver by legal heirs in cases of honour killing cannot be routinely accepted without satisfying statutory conditions and obtaining the mandatory approval of the trial court, and such offences do not warrant the concession of pre-arrest bail.
- Whether pardon by legal heirs is sufficient to entitle an accused to pre-arrest bail in an honour killing case?
- Does an offence committed in the name of honour fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Can a compromise be allowed for a murder committed in the name or on the pretext of honor without the approval and conditions imposed by the trial court?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 345, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER
ERUM SAJAD GULL, J. -- Ghulam Yasin, petitioner seeks bail before arrest in case F.I.R. No, 323/2015, dated 29.9.2015, registered under Section 302, PPC, at Police Station, Satyana, District Faisalabad.
2. The allegation against the petitioner is that he murdered his real daughter namely Shahida Parveen aged about 16/17 years.
3. Arguments heard. Record perused.
4. The petitioner is nominated in the promptly lodged F.I.R. With a specific role.
5. The petitioner has murdered his own daughter in cold blood and is feeling no remorse for what he has done.
6. Mere fact that the legal heirs of the deceased have pardoned the petitioner is not sufficient to entitle the petitioner to pre-arrest bail as the offence alleged against the petitioner is against the State as well as the society. Honour killing is prevailing in our society and every day innocent people are murdered in cold blood in the name of honour, which is deplorable.
7. Section 345, Cr.P.C. Has been amended by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2004 (Act I of 2005) and now sub-section (2-A) has been inserted in Section 345, Cr.P.C. According to which if a murder has been committed in the name of honour, compromise cannot be allowed without certain conditions and approval of the Trial Court is mandatory. The relevant section is reproduced as under:- "Section 345, Cr.P.C. Compounding Offence. -- (1) The offences punishable under the sections of the Pakistan Penal Code specified in the first two columns of the table next following may be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of that table.
(2-A) Where an offence under Chapter XVI of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860) has been committed in the name or on the pretext of karokari, siyahkari or similar other customs or practices, such offence may be waived or compounded subject to such conditions as the Court may deem fit to impose with the consent of the parties having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case."
8. To discourage honour killing an amendment has also been made in Section 302, PPC and a proviso has been inserted by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2004 (Act I of 2005), which is reproduced as under:- "Section 302, PPC Punishment of qatl-i-amd. -- Whoever commits qatl-i-amd shall, subject to the provisions of this Chapter be:
(a) punished with death as qisas;
(b) punished with death or imprisonment for life as ta'zir having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, if the proof in either of the forms specified in Section 304 is not available; or
(c) punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to twenty-five years, where according to the Injunctions of Islam the punishment of qisas is not applicable: ' Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to offence to qatl-i-amd if committed in the name or on the pretext of honour and the same shall fall within the ambit of clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may."
9. The offence alleged against the petitioner falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497, Cr.P.C.
10. The petitioner has failed to point out any mala fide on behalf of the complainant or the police to falsely implicate him in this case. Recoveries are yet to be effected from the petitioner.
11. Bail before arrest is an extra-ordinary judicial relief which requires extra-ordinary circumstances and is granted to protect innocent persons from humiliation and disgrace. Such concession could not be granted to an accused against whom a prima facie murder case is made out.
12. For what has been discussed above, the instant petition is dismissed.