MUHAMMAD BILAL vs The STATE and another

ORDER

ABDUL SAMI KHAN, J.---Petitioner Muhammad Bilal through this criminal miscellaneous seeks pre- arrest bail in case FIR No.557/2017 dated 28.9.2017 registered under section 365-B, P.P.C. at Police Station Jalalpur Bhattian, District Hafizabad.

2. Briefly the allegation against the petitioner, as per FIR, is that he along with his other co-accused abducted Mst. Shagufta Yasmeen, sister of the complainant, for immoral purpose.

3. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and perusing the record, it is noticed that the instant case has been registered with ten days unexplained delay, which means that the same has been registered after consultations and deliberations. Although the petitioner is nominated in the FIR with specific allegation that he along with his other co-accused abducted Mst. Shagufta Yasmeen, sister of the complainant, for immoral purpose but the facts remains that on 20.9.2017, the alleged abductee filed a private complaint under sections 506 and 452, P.P.C. against the complainant and others before the Judicial Magistrate, Hafizabad, in which, on 20.9.2017 her statement was recorded to the effect that she with her free will and consent contracted marriage with Syed Adeel Shah and no one had abducted her and that on 18.9.2017 the present complainant along with others assaulted upon her in the house of her husband but she was saved by her husband and other inhabitants of the locality. Besides this the alleged abductee also filed a private complaint under sections 354, 452, 506, 148, 149, P.P.C. against the complainant and others before the Area Magistrate, Sheikhupura and also recorded similar statement, as mentioned earlier, on 18.9.2017. It will not be out of place to mention here that a duly verified Nikahnama and computerized marriage certificate of the alleged abductee are attached with this petition, which show that the alleged abductee is a legally wedded wife of Syed Adeel Raza Shah. Furthermore, the complainant, present in Court, has informed this Court that the alleged abductee has filed a suit for jactitation of marriage against the petitioner's co-accused namely Syed Adeel Raza Shah, as such, it is yet to be determined by the competent court of jurisdiction that whether the alleged abductee had contracted marriage with the petitioner's co-accused validly or not. In this regard reliance can be placed upon the case of "Muhammad Azam v. Muhammad Iqbal and others" (PLD 1984 SC 95). Even otherwise, it is common trend in our society that a girl, who contracted run away marriage, joins her parents, she usually takes somersault from her previous stance and involves her husband and other family members in such like case due to the pressure of her parents. In these circumstances, prima facie, the possibility of false involvement of the petitioner in the instant case due to mala fide and ulterior inotive of the complainant after joining hands with the local police by widening the net cannot be ruled out. The question of vicarious liability of the petitioner in the commission of the alleged offences shall be determined at trial after recording the evidence of the parties. In this view of the background, the instant bail application is accepted and the ad- interim pre-arrest bail already granted to the petitioner is confirmed subject to his furnishing fresh bail bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court.