Pakistan Case Law
2017 SCMR 1939

MUHAMMAD IQBAL alias BALA BANDRI vs The STATE and others

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Citation2017 SCMR 1939
CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan
Case No.Criminal Petition No. 994-L of 2017
Date2017-09-06
Judge(s)Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Manzoor Ahmad Malik
Authored byAsif Saeed Khan Khosa
ResultBail granted
AI Summary — generated from this judgment; read the full text below and verify before relying on it.

This matter concerns a petition for leave to appeal against the refusal of post-arrest bail by the Lahore High Court in a case involving offences under the Pakistan Penal Code. The petitioner sought bail in a case registered under sections 302, 354, 147, 148, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860. The Supreme Court examined the record and noted that the petitioner was allegedly armed with a hockey stick, which was not blood-stained upon recovery. The court observed that the deceased had intervened in a pre-existing brawl, the injury caused by the petitioner was not fatal, and the petitioner was not connected to the stated motive. Furthermore, the initial report under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 cited section 322, not 302, and the petitioner had been in custody for over a year with the investigation finalized. The Court held that the case warranted further inquiry under section 497(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. Consequently, the petition was converted into an appeal, allowed, and the petitioner was admitted to bail.

Questions settled in this judgment
  • Does the absence of blood on an alleged weapon of offence constitute grounds for further inquiry under section 497(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
  • Can bail be granted when the initial police report cited a different offence than the subsequent challan?
  • Is the completion of investigation and submission of a challan a relevant factor in determining the necessity of continued physical custody for bail purposes?
Laws & provisions referred
  • Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 354, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 147, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 148, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 109, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 173, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
  • Section 322, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 302(b), Pakistan Penal Code 1860
  • Section 497(2), Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
post-arrest bailfurther inquirycriminal appealsudden occurrencebail bondinvestigation finalization

ORDER

ASIF SAEED KHAN KHOSA, J.--- Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 376-L of 2017 For the reasons mentioned in this miscellaneous application the same is allowed and the delay in filing of Criminal Petition No. 994-L of 2017 is condoned. Disposed of.

Criminal Petition No. 994-L of 2017 Through this petition Muhammad Iqbal alias Bala Bandri petitioner has sought leave to appeal against the order dated 22.03.2017 passed by a learned Judge-in-Chamber of the Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 1365-B of 2017 whereby post-arrest bail was refused to him in case FIR No. 1325 registered at Police Station Shandara, District Lahore on 17.07.2016 in respect of offences under sections 302, 354, 147, 148 and 109, P.P.C.

After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and the complainant appearing in person and having gone through the record of investigation with their assistance we have observed that according to the prosecution the petitioner was armed with a hockey stick and he had caused a blow with that stick near the nose of Khadim Hussain deceased. The FIR itself shows that Khadim Hussain deceased was not the subject of the initial assault and it was Khadim Hussain deceased himself who had interfered in a brawl already taking place between the petitioner and others on the one side and their adversaries on the other. The injury allegedly caused by the petitioner to the deceased had not proved fatal. The petitioner was not directly connected with the motive set up in the FIR. The hockey stick allegedly recovered from the petitioner's custody during the investigation was not stained with blood. The incident in issue prima facie appears to be a result of a sudden occurrence developing at the spur of the moment and in the initial report under section 173, Cr.P.C, the allegation leveled against the petitioner was in respect of an offence under section 322, P.P.C. and not under section 302, P.P.C. but at some subsequent stage a Challan was submitted for an offence under section 302(b), P.P.C. The petitioner had been arrested in connection with this case on 11.08.2016, i.e. more than a year ago and during the interregnum the investigation of this case has already been finalized and a Challan has been submitted and, thus, physical custody of the petitioner is not required at this stage for the purposes of investigation.

4. For what has been discussed above we have found the case against the petitioner to be a case calling for further inquiry into his guilt within the purview of subsection (2) of section 497, Cr.P.C. This petition is, therefore, converted into an appeal and the same is allowed and consequently the petitioner is admitted to bail in the above mentioned criminal case subject to furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees one hundred thousand only) with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court.

Cited by 6 cases

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