Hafiz Syed Muhammad Usman vs The State and another
This matter involves petitions for post-arrest bail filed by police officials of the Dolphin Force seeking pre-trial release in case FIR No. 430 dated 13.03.2020 registered under sections 302, 324, 109, and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 at Police Station Iqbal Town, Lahore, relating to the extrajudicial killing of the complainant's son. The core legal question is whether the petitioners are entitled to post-arrest bail given the gravity of the accusations, prima facie connection to the crime, and recovery of matching weapons. The Lahore High Court dismissed the petitions, holding that the material available on record sufficiently connects the petitioners to the commission of the alleged offense, which falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and that law enforcement personnel misusing official authority do not deserve leniency. The key principle laid down is that police officials involved in grave offenses acting outside the law are not entitled to bail when prima facie evidence and recoveries connect them to the crime.
- Are police officials involved in an alleged staged encounter entitled to post-arrest bail when prima facie evidence and weapon recoveries connect them to the murder?
- Does an offense falling within the prohibitory limb of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 bar the grant of bail under the circumstances of the case?
- Section 302, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 324, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 109, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 34, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER
ASJAD JAVAID GHURAL, J.---Through this single order , I intend to decide the titled petition filed by petitioner Hafiz Syed Muhammad Usman and connected Criminal Misc. Nos. 40201 and 49852-B/2020 filed by Sabir Hussain and Muhammad Rszzaq, in terms of section 497, Cr.P.C., whereby they have sought post arrest bail in case FIR No.430 dated 13.03.2020, in respect of offences under sections 302, 324, 109 and 34, P.P.C., registered at Police Station, Iqbal Town, Lahore.
2. Tersely , the accusation mentioned in the crime report is that on 13.03.2020 at about 11:30 p.m., four police employees of the Dolphin Force killed Muhammad Hassan, a son of the complainant by firing with their official fire arms, while on duty . Hence, this case was registered.
3. I have heard learned counsel for petitioners, learned Deputy Prosecutor General appearing for the State assisted by learned counsel for the complainant and perused the record.
4. The petitioners are members of the Dolphin Police Force, which was established in near past in the provincial headquarter in order to counter the street crimes and to cope with the sever law and order situation in the era of overall terrorist waive in the country . The main object for establishment of this Force is to protect the life, liberty and property of the innocent citizens but unfortunately , there has been growing tendency that members of the law enforcing agencies, in particular , the police force, consider themselves over and above the law and in pursuant of fallacious ego, they sometime do not hesitate to claim lives of innocent persons. The mindset of such like police employees, cannot be changed unless they are treated with iron hands. They do not deserve any leniency and ought to be awarded exemplary and deterrent punishment, if proved guilty , so that sense of security may be restored in the minds of the society .
5. Petitioner Sabir Hussain is nominated in the crime report with the allegation that he along with one Shoaib and two unknown accused (having no name-badge on the uniform), being employees of the Dolphin Police Force, stopped the deceased for search and on his move to park the car, they opened firing, injured him, left him lying at the spot and did not bother to take him to the hospital. The complainant made supplementary statement on the same day and nominated petitioner Hafiz Syed Muhammad Usman and co-accused Muhammad Razzaq, being the other police officials, who had stopped the deceased and made fire shots from behind the car hitting the deceased at his back by crossing the driving seat. During investigation, it came on surface that the petitioners along with their co-accused had played puppet at the hands of the deceased's opponents namely, Zulqarnain, Sabir son of Muhammad Sharif and two unknown accused and they killed him with their respective official fire arm weapons while planning to give it the colour of police-encounter and after seeing the deceased being injured, they did not shift him to the hospital immediately . The deceased was shifted to the hospital by the local police patrolling on their official vehicle where he expired on 19.03.2020. The post mortem examination report of the deceased shows two stitched fire arm injuries and injury No.1, being the entry wound, was found fatal to his life. The recovery of respective fire arm weapons was shown against each accused out of which the weapon recovered from petitioner Razzaq stood matched with the crime empty secured from the place of occurrence. The petitioners were arrested in this case on 15.03.2020 and during investigation they were found responsible for the murder of the deceased.
The material available on record is sufficient to connect the petitioners with the commission of alleged occurrence and, thus, I am not inclined to release them on bail. The offence charged against the petitioners attracts the prohibitory limb of section 497, Cr .P.C.
The sequel of above discussion is that the petitions in hand are devoid of any force, the same stand dismissed.