Syed Hasnain Haider vs State and another
This petition for leave to appeal challenges the refusal of pre-arrest bail by the Lahore High Court in a case involving dishonoured bank cheques. The petitioner, accused of issuing cheques worth one crore forty-seven lac that subsequently bounced, contended that the instruments were provided as security for a family dispute rather than a valid financial obligation, and that they were fraudulently obtained. The petitioner further argued that a declaratory suit regarding the underlying transaction is currently pending before a Civil Court. The Supreme Court examined the instruments and noted that the petitioner failed to substantiate the claim that the cheques were issued as security or to provide any contractual basis for such a plea. The Court held that a drawer of a cheque cannot evade the legal consequences of dishonour through a bald assertion of being an unsuspecting surety, especially when the instrument carries a statutory presumption of validity. Finding no evidence of mala fide or animus to justify interfering with the concurrent findings of the lower courts in a cognizable offence, the Court declined leave to appeal.
- Can a drawer of a cheque avoid criminal liability for a dishonoured instrument by claiming it was issued as a security instrument without providing evidence of the underlying contract?
- Is a bald plea of being an unsuspecting surety sufficient to rebut the statutory presumption of a valid financial instrument?
- Does the pendency of a civil declaratory suit regarding a transaction automatically entitle an accused to pre-arrest bail in a criminal case involving dishonoured cheques?
ORDER
Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, J.--In a family breach, the petitioner has been blamed by the complainant, no other than a close relative, to have issued him two bank cheques, to the tune of rupees one crore forty-seven lac, towards fulfillment of a financial obligation, arisen out of a botched sale transaction relating to some piece of land, bounced upon presentation; avoiding arrest for a considerable span of time, he has finally been declined judicial protection by a learned Judge-in-Chamber of Lahore High Court vide order dated 31.3.2021 to argue before us that in the absence of any subsisting 'financial obligation' he had handed over the cheques to his brother Syed Zulqarnain as security instrument for the settlement of family feud, fraudulently taken over by the complainant, cancellation whereof, is being pursued through a declaratory suit, sub judice in a Civil Court at Chunian till date, a position vehemently contested by the learned Law Of ficer with the assistance of counsel for the complainant.
2. Heard. Record perused.
3. The impugned instruments admittedly belonged to the petitioner; these carry a wording on their back as "shorty", however , the learned counsel despite his best attempt has not been able to point out, even obliquely , any clause of contract/agreement or any portion thereof, in performance whereof, the petitioner purportedly stood surety .
Supported by statutory presumption of being a valid instrument, a drawer cannot ward off the consequences of its failure through bald plea of being an unsuspecting surety . Even otherwise, within the family fold in a close degree, the petitioner has not been able to point out any mala fide or animus, possibly lurking behind his long due arrest in a non-bailable/cognizable offence, a sine qua non to - divert the usual course of criminal law. View concurrently taken by the Courts below being well within the remit of law calls for no interference. Petition fails. Leave declined.