AHMED SHER Versus State
The accused-petitioner sought post-arrest bail in case F.I.R. No.13 registered under sections 13/14 of the Arms Ordinance at Police Station Lachi, District Kohat, following the recovery of illicit arms and ammunition from a vehicle driven by him. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to bail given the nature of the offences and the circumstances of the case. The Peshawar High Court held that the petitioner was entitled to bail as the offences charged did not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, carrying a maximum sentence of seven years. Furthermore, the court noted that the petitioner was a first offender with no prior criminal history, the investigation was complete, and keeping him incarcerated for an indefinite period would serve no useful purpose. The petition was accordingly accepted and bail granted upon furnishing suitable sureties.
- Whether an accused is entitled to bail when the charged offences do not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898?
- Does the completion of investigation and lack of need for further custody favor the grant of bail to a first offender?
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
SHAH JEHAN KHAN AKHUNDZADA, J.- --Accused-petitioner Ahmad Sher involved in case F.I.R. No.13 dated 13-1-2013 under sections 13/14 Arms Ordinance registered at Police Station, Lachi District Kohat was refused bail by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-V, Kohat vide his order dated 7-2-2013. So he has now moved the instant application for his release on bail.
2. The facts of the prosecution case, as set out in the F.I.R., are that on 13-1-2013 at 1300 hours on receiving a spy information that huge quantity of arms and ammunitions would be smuggled from Dara Adam Khel towards Mianwali (Punjab Province) through Motorcar bearing Registration No.AC-0435/Sindh, complainant Khanullah S.H.O. along with his other police contingents made a picket on the Main Highway near Tool Plaza Curve, meanwhile the said vehicle came from Kohat side which was stopped for checking. The driver of the vehicle disclosed his name as Ahmad Sher son of Muhammad Sher resident of District Mianwali while the other person sitting in the front seat disclosed his name as Miraj Muhammad son of Khawas Muhammad resident of District Chitral. Search of the vehicle led to the recovery of five Pistols .30 bore without number, 22 magazines of .30 bore, two Kalashnikovs of folding butt without number, five chargers of Kalashnikov, one repeater in shape of Kalashnikov, two magazines of .12 bore repeater, three stain guns rifle without number and 800 rounds of different bore, from the secret cavities of all the four doors of it. Besides the above arms and ammunitions, three number plates of different numbers were also recovered. All the recovered arms and ammunitions were seized and taken into police custody, arrested both the accused on the spot and drafted a Murasila which was sent to the Police Station where on the basis of it a case was registered against the accused vide F.I.R. mentioned above.
3. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as well as the learned counsel for the State and have also gone through the record.
4. Without dilating upon the merits of the case, suffice it to say, that none of the offences with which the accused-petitioner is charged which fall within the prohibitory clause of section 497 Cr.P.C. because the offences in question entail punishment for seven years. Apart from this fact there is no history available with the prosecution that the accused-petitioner having been indulged in offences of the same and similar kind, therefore, being first offender he deserves lenient treatment in the matter of bail too. Moreover, investigation in the case is complete and he is no more required for further investigation and no useful purpose would be served to the prosecution to keep him behind the bars for indefinite period. In this regard reliance is placed on 1977 SCMR 449.
5. For the above reasons, this petition is accepted and the accused-petitioner is granted bail on furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs.1,00,000 (Rupees One Lac) with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Illaqa/Judicial Magistrate who shall see that the sureties must be local, reliable and men of means.
The above are the reasons of my short order announced on 9-4-2013.
MWA/334/P Bail granted.