Arshad Nadeem and 2 others vs The State and another
This matter comes before the Lahore High Court through a petition filed under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, wherein the petitioners sought post-arrest bail in respect of FIR No. 403 of 2019 registered under Schedules II and III of the Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 and Sections 23 and 27 of the Drugs Act, 1976. The core legal question concerns whether the petitioners, whose services were hired for preparing and packing unregistered cosmetic material at premises owned by another absconding accused, are entitled to further inquiry regarding their guilty knowledge under the statutory framework. The court held that the case falls within the scope of further inquiry under Section 497(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, noting that the lesser punishment for the offence is three years, the petitioners lacked direct ownership of the premises, their knowledge of non-registration requires probing, and they have suffered prolonged incarceration without trial progress. Consequently, the court admitted the petitioners to post-arrest bail, establishing that where complicity and knowledge require further investigation and the statutory punishment threshold permits, bail should be granted.
- Whether an accused whose services were hired for preparing unregistered products is entitled to post-arrest bail when knowledge of non-registration requires further inquiry?
- Whether the lesser punishment provided for an offence is to be considered for the limited purpose of bail?
- Does prolonged incarceration without progress in the trial warrant the grant of post-arrest bail under section 497(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Section 497(2), Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Section 23, Drugs Act, 1976
- Section 27, Drugs Act, 1976
ORDER
Through the instant petition filed under section 497, Cr.P.C., Arshad Nadeem, Muhammad Qaiser and Hassan Bakhsh (Petitioners) have sought post-arrest bail in case FIR No.403/2019 dated 07.11.2019 registered under Schedules II and III of the Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 and sections 23 and 27 of the Drugs Act, 1976, at Police Stations City Duniapur , District Lodhran."
2. Precisely , stated the case of prosecution as unfolded from the crime report is to the effect that on 07.11.2019 at about 2:28 p.m., Adnan Akram Drug Inspector (Complainant) along with other officials from the Health Department raided the premises owned by Sheikh Sohail And found the Petitioners and their co-accused engaged in the preparation of alternative therapeutics goods/cosmetics; that said Sheikh Sohail was not found present at the spot.
3. Arguments heard. Record perused.
4. It evinces from the perusal of the record that the case in hand pertains to the recovery of unregistered alternative therapeutics goods. The substance was recovered from the premises owned by one Sheikh Sohail who has not yet been arrested. So far as the Petitioners are concerned, their services were hired by Sheikh Sohail for the preparation and packing of, unregistered cosmetic material. The question wheth er the Petitioners were having knowledge that the products being prepar ed by them are not registered with DRAP , is yet to be probed. It is further observed that the facts and circumstances of the case attract the offence entailing punishment of imprisonment not less than three years and not more than ten years. Needless to mention here that for the limited purposes of bail, the lessor punishment provided for the offence is to be considered, which in the instant case is three years. Last but not the least, it is observed that the Petitioners stand arrested in the case since 07.11.2019 and that too without any progress in the trial.
5. For what has been discussed above, we are of the view that the case of the Petitioners is covered by the provisions of section 497(2), Cr.P.C. and they are entitled to the concession of bail after-arrest. Resultantly , the instant petition is accepted and the Petitioners are admitted to post-arrest bail subject to their furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs.100,000/- (one hundred thousand only) each with one surety each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court.