Abdul Razzaq vs The State
This criminal appeal arose from the dismissal of the petitioner's bail application by the High Court in an unidentified murder case initially reported without naming suspects or motive. The petitioner was subsequently implicated based on belated witness statements alleging he had borrowed and returned a .30 caliber pistol, which was later produced by the witnesses and forensically matched to casings retrieved from the crime scene. The core issue before the Supreme Court was whether such circumstantial weapon recovery, in the absence of other direct evidence, conclusively connected the accused to the crime to justify withholding bail, especially in light of the petitioner's juvenility and the conclusion of the investigation. Granting bail, the Court held that attributing the weapon and culpability to the petitioner without further corroboration was a matter to be settled after recording evidence at trial. Furthermore, the petitioner's juvenile status and the completion of the investigation rendered continued pre-trial detention unjustified.
- Whether the recovery of a weapon produced by witnesses and forensically linked to crime-scene casings is sufficient to deny bail without substantive evidence attributing its use to the accused?
- Does an accused person's status as a juvenile entitle them to concessions in the grant of bail pending trial?
- Is continued pre-trial detention justified when the investigation is complete and no further purpose is served by keeping the accused incarcerated?
ORDER
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed , J. - Zahid Shah, 18/19, was spotted dead on 17.1.2021 within the precincts of Police Station Landi Kotal, District Khyber; his uncle Shoqi Muhammad reported the incident to police without mentioning the accused or motive for the crime. Autopsy conducted at 10:45 a.m. on 18.1.2021 noted two firearm entry wounds on the skull, inflicted within the preceding 9 to 18 hours; as the investigation progressed, the petitioner was hauled up as a suspect on the basis of statements of Iqrar Hussain and Roman PWs, recorded as late as on 29.1.2021; according to the witnesses, the petitioner had borrowed a .30 caliber pistol which he subsequently returned to them; the pistol was produced by the witnesses to the police and it was forensically found wedded with the casings, secured from the spot. The High Court considered the evidence, sufficient to constitute "reasonable grounds " and declined bail vide impugned order dated 19.03.2021.
2. Heard. Record perused.
3. Be that as it may, the question as to whether .30 caliber pistol presented to the police by the prosecution witnesses, shown to have ejected casings of the fatal shots can be attributed to the petitioner so as to conclusively saddle him with the culpability of crime in the absence of any other evidence is certainly an issue that needs to be settled after recording of evidence. In the school leaving certificate, petitioner's date of birth is recorded as 6.9.2004, bringing his status within the remit of juvenility with concomitant concessions available to him under the law. Even otherwise, investigation being complete, petitioner's continuous detention is not likely to improve upon prosecution's case; a case for his release on bail stands made out. Petition is converted into appeal and allowed; the petitioner/appellant shall be released, pending his trial, upon furnishing bond in the sum of Rs.500,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court.