Hazrat Amin vs The State and another
This matter concerns a petition for leave to appeal against an order of the Peshawar High Court, which refused post-arrest bail to the petitioner in a case registered under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to the grant of bail pending trial, given the evidentiary material available on record. Upon review, the Supreme Court observed an eight-day delay in reporting the incident to the police. Furthermore, the State conceded that there was no direct evidence connecting the petitioner to the alleged offence, and the police officer present could not identify any legally admissible evidence. Additionally, the challan had not yet been submitted to a court of competent jurisdiction, and the petitioner had been incarcerated since July 2019. The Court held that these circumstances rendered the case one of further inquiry under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. Consequently, the petition was converted into an appeal and allowed, with the Court granting bail to the petitioner subject to the furnishing of bail bonds.
- Does an eight-day delay in reporting an offence to the police constitute grounds for further inquiry under Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Is a petitioner entitled to bail when the prosecution fails to point to any legally admissible evidence connecting the accused to the alleged offence?
- Does the failure to submit a challan before a court of competent jurisdiction support a finding that a case falls within the ambit of further inquiry?
- Section 365-B, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER
MANZOOR AHMAD MALIK, J.---Petitioner seeks leave to appeal against the order dated 09.08.2019 whereby bail was refused to him by the learned Peshawar High Court, Peshawar in case FIR No. 200 dated 25.03.2019, offence under section 365-B, P .P.C., registered at Police Station Badhber , Peshawar .
2. After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned ASC appearing on behalf of State and perusal of available record with their, assistance, it has been observed by us that there is delay of about eight days in reporting the matter to police. During the course of arguments, learned counsel appearing on behalf of State, under instructions of the police officer present with record, states that there is no direct evidence available on record against the petitioner . The police officer present in Court even failed to point out any legally admissible piece of evidence available on record, which could connect the petitioner with the alleged offence. He further confirms that challan has not yet been submitted before a court of competent jurisdiction. Petitioner is behind the bars since 04.07.2019. All these circumstances make the case of petitioner one of further enquiry falling within the ambit of section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure.
3. For the foregoing, the instant criminal petition is converted into an appeal and the same is hereby allowed.
Appellant Hazrat Amin is allowed bail (in the instant FIR) subject to his furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.200,000/- (T wo hundred thousand) with one surety in the like amount, to the satisfaction of trial court. revisions by the competent authorities. Therefore, it is advisable to consult the official sources or legal professionals for the most up-to-date and accurate information.
Cited by 3 cases
- JABRAN Versus State 2025 SCMR 1099
- NASEEM MANGNEJO Versus State 2023 MLD 1072
- Ashok vs The State 2021 SHC 66