ADEEL RAZA Versus State
ORDER
ABDUL SAMI KHAN, J.--- Through this petition under section 497, Cr.P.C. the petitioners Adeel Raza and Sher Ali alias Shairu have sought bail after arrest in case FIR No.557/2017 dated 28.09.2017 under sections 365-B, P.P.C. later on offence under section 376(ii), P.P.C. was added registered at Police Station Jalalpur Bhattian District Hafizabad.
2. The arguments advanced by learned counsel for the petitioners as well as learned Deputy Prosecutor General have been heard and record of this case has also been perused with their able assistance. This is bail after arrest and deeper appreciation of evidence is not allowed at this stage. It has been noticed by this Court that there is a delay of about ten days in the registration of FIR which has not been explained by the complainant, which prima facie reflects that the FIR has been got registered after due deliberation and consultation. The allegations against the petitioners in the FIR are that they abducted Mst. Shagufta Yasmeen, sister of the complainant for committing Zina with her. It is noticed by this Court that the said abducted Mst. Shagufta Yasmeen filed a private complaint against the complainant and others on 20.09.2017 before Judicial Magistrate Hafizabad and also got recorded her statement that she with her free will and consent contracted marriage with petitioner Adeel and no one had abductee her. Beside this, the alleged abductee also filed private complaint before Area Magistrate Sheikhpura and recorded similar statement on 18.09.2017. Computerized marriage certificate of the alleged abductee with petitioner Adeel Raza is available on the file. I may observe here that it is common practice in our society that in the first instance a girl contracts marriage at her own without the consent of her parents and thereafter when she joins her parents she usually took somersault and involves her husband and his family in such like cases. Admittedly, the alleged abductee has also filed a suit for jactitation of marriage against the petitioner Adeel Raza which is pending adjudication before the court of learned Judge Family Court, which is a proper forum to decide such matters. Reliance in this regard is placed on case law titled as "Muhammad Azam v. Muhammad Iqbal and others" PLD 1984 SC 95 wherein it has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan that Family Courts are the proper forum to decide the validity of marriage. The petitioners are previous non-convicts and never involved in any other case. The petitioners are behind the bars since 28.09.2017 without any fruitful progress in their trial. Investigation of the case is complete and they are no more required for further investigation. No useful purpose would be served by keeping them behind the bars, thus, their further incarceration in jail would not serve any beneficial purpose at this stage.
3. For what has been discussed above, the case of the petitioners becomes one of further inquiry covered by subsection (2) of section 497, Cr.P.C. This petition is, therefore, allowed and the petitioners are granted bail after arrest subject to their furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees one hundred thousand only) each with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court.
4. The observations made above are tentative in nature and are strictly confined to the decision of this bail petition only.
HBT/A-12/L Bail granted.