1993 SCMR 2281

MUHAMMAD IQBAL vs MUHAMMAD SHAFI and another

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Citation1993 SCMR 2281

CourtSupreme Court of Pakistan

Case No.Criminal Petition for Leave to Appeal No,484-L of 1998,

Date1998-12-02

Judge(s)Muhammad Afzal Zullah, CJ., Saad Saood Jan and Muhammad Rafiq Tarar

Authored byMuhammad Rafiq Tarar

ResultPetition dismissed

Summary

This petition is directed against the order dated 16-9-1997 passed by the Lahore High Court, which upheld the acquittal of the respondent by the Magistrate 1st Class, Kasur, on the ground of lack of evidence. The core legal question concerns the condonation of delay in filing the petition and whether the medical grounds presented by the petitioner constitute sufficient cause for such delay. The Supreme Court held that the petition is barred by time because the petitioner failed to establish an inability to engage a counsel or file the petition through a next friend during the claimed period of illness. The key principle laid down is that confinement to bed alone, without proving an absolute inability to instruct counsel or act through a next friend, does not constitute sufficient cause to condone a significant delay in filing a petition.

Questions settled in this judgment

Whether medical confinement to bed constitutes sufficient cause for condonation of delay in filing a petition when the petitioner could have acted through a next friend?
Can a time-barred petition be entertained without satisfactory proof of the petitioner's inability to engage counsel?

limitationcondonation of delaycriminal revisionacquittaltime-barred petition

ORDER

1. ' This petition is directed against the order dated 16-9-1997 passed by a learned Single Judge of the Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Revision No,84 of 1997 whereby he upheld the order dated 23- 8-1995 passed by the learned Magistrate 1st Class (Judicial), Kasur whereby the respondent was acquitted on the ground that there was not an iota of evidence on the record to saddle the respondent with any criminal liability. Delay is sought to be condoned on the ground that the petitioner remained confined to bed with effect from 4th November, 1997 under the treatment of Dr. Sajjad Mehmood, who recommended him rest and treatment for 12-days. Be that as it may, there is nothing on record that the petitioner was unable to engage counsel for filing a petition which he could have done through his next friend. The petition is dismissed being barred by time.