Mst. BAKHTAWAR vs THE STATE
The petitioner sought post-arrest bail in a case registered under sections 10 and 13 of Ordinance VII of 1979 at Police Station Bhawana, District Jhang. The core legal question was whether the petitioner, a woman accused alongside others, made out a case for the grant of bail under the statutory exceptions provided for female accused. The Lahore High Court held that the petitioner was entitled to bail as the F.I.R. merely alleged she was taken for the purpose of committing Zina, police found no evidence of the actual act being committed, the Chemical Examiner's report regarding vaginal swabs was negative, and she being a woman fell under the first proviso to section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. The petition was consequently accepted and bail granted subject to furnishing surety bonds.
- Does a female accused qualify for the concession of bail under the first proviso to section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 when the chemical examiner's report is negative?
- Is bail warranted when the police recover the accused from a place but find no evidence of the actual commission of the offence of Zina?
- Section 10, Ordinance VII of 1979
- Section 13, Ordinance VII of 1979
- Section 497, Code of Criminal Procedure 1898
ORDER
The petitioner seeks bail in a case registered against her and others vide F.I.R. No.50 dated 2-2- 2002 for an offence under sections 10 and 13 of Ordinance VII of 1979 at Police Station Bhawana, District Jhang.
2. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the State. In the F.I.R. Merely it is stated that Muhammad Saleem and Noor Ahmad co-accused took the present petitioner on a motorcycle towards the "Dhari" of Muhammad Saleem for the purposes of committing Zina with her. The police raided the said place and found Muhammad Saleem and the present petitioner inside the Dhari. There is no evidence that they were seen indulging- in the act of Zina. The report of the Chemical Examiner about the vaginal swabs of the petitioner is in the negative. Moreover, the petitioner is a woman and deserves concession of bail under the first-proviso to section 497 of the Cr.P.C.
3. Therefore, the petition is accepted and the petitioner is allowed bail, subject to her furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Sessions Judge Jhang.
Cited by 1 case
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