Arshad Mahmood 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 petitioner seeks post-arrest bail in case FIR No. 7929/2022 registered under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 at Police Station Kahna, District Lahore, concerning the dishonour of a cheque allegedly issued for the repayment of a loan. The core legal questions involve whether post-arrest bail should be granted when the offence does not fall within the prohibitory clause and whether criminal proceedings under Section 489-F can be used as a recovery mechanism. The court held that since the maximum punishment for an offence under Section 489-F does not exceed three years, it falls outside the prohibitory clause of Section 497(1), making bail the rule and refusal the exception, and further noted that criminal proceedings under this section are not a mechanism for debt recovery. Consequently, the petition was allowed and the petitioner was admitted to post-arrest bail.
- Whether an offence under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Can criminal proceedings under Section 489-F of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 be utilized as a mechanism for the recovery of a loan amount?
- Is post-arrest bail to be granted as a rule when an offence falls outside the prohibitory clause and no exceptional circumstances are shown?
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Section 489-F, Pakistan Penal Code 1860
- Section 497(1), Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
- Order XXXVII, Code of Civil Procedure 1908
ORDER
ALI ZIA BAJWA, J. Through the instant petition filed under section 497, Cr.P.C., the petitioner seeks his post-arrest bail in case FIR No.7929/2022, dated 19 10.2022, offence under section 489-F, P.P.C., registered with Police Station Kahna, District Lahore.
2. Precisely, accusation against the petitioner, as per contents of the crime report is that, he received a loan of an amount of Rs.50,00,000/- from the complainant, and for repayment of the same issued a cheque in his favour, which on presentation for encashment before the concerned bank was dishonored.
3. Arguments heard. Record perused.
4. Perusal of the crime report reflects that there is an unexplained delay of more than one year in registration of the crime report. It is evinced from the crime report that the petitioner had business terms with the complainant. It was the contention of the complainant that the disputed cheque was issued by the petitioner for the return of loan amount, whereas, according to the learned counsel for the petitioner that the blank cheque was given to the complainant as a guarantee who tempered the same. He further submits that the petitioner did not obtain any amount from the complainant. However, such controversy would be resolved by the learned trial court after recording of evidence.
5. It is observed that maximum punishment of offence under B section 489-F, P.P.C. is not more than three years, as such, the same does not fall within the ambit of prohibitory clause of section 497(1), Cr.P.C. Bail in such like cases is a rule and refusal an exception, but no exceptional circumstances could be pointed out by the learned Law officer as provided in the case of Tariq Bashir[1]. The revered Supreme Court of Pakistan in a latest verdict handed down in the case of Abdul Saboor[2] held that registration of criminal case under section 489-F, P.P.C. is not a mechanism for recovery of amount due towards the accused rather civil proceedings provide remedies, inter alia, under Order XXXVII of the C.P.C.
6. Petitioner is previously non-convict and non-record holder. He is behind the bars since his arrest, and his person is no more required to the police for the purpose of further investigation. Further incarceration of the petitioner in jail, for an indefinite period, would not serve any useful purpose for the prosecution.
7. Resultantly, the instant bail petition is allowed and the petitioner is admitted to bail after arrest, subject w his furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees one hundred thousand only) with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court.
1. Tariq Bashir and 5 others v. The State" (PLD 1995 SC 34)
2. "Abdul Saboor v. The State through A.G. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and another" (2022 SCMR 592)