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This case involves two petitioners, Muhammad Imran and Muhammad Asif, who sought post-arrest bail in a theft case registered under Sections 381-A and 411 of the Pakistan Penal Code, relating to the alleged theft of a tractor. The complainant said his tractor went missing overnight while parked on a farm, but the FIR was lodged eight days after the incident without any explanation for the delay.
The petitioners were not named in the original FIR and there was no direct evidence against them. They were implicated only later, through a supplementary statement by the complainant. The court noted that recovery of the stolen property was allegedly made jointly on the pointing out of the petitioners along with a co-accused, who had already been granted bail by a lower court, a decision the complainant never challenged.
The Lahore High Court held that since the offenses did not fall under the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code, bail is generally the rule rather than the exception. Given the unexplained delay in the FIR, the lack of direct evidence, the reliance on a later supplementary statement, and the fact that investigation was complete with no trial yet started, the court found the matter required further inquiry into the petitioners' guilt. It granted bail, emphasizing that denying bail indefinitely serves no real purpose for persons not yet convicted. This case illustrates how delays and weak initial evidence can support bail in non-serious offense categories.
اس مقدمے میں دو درخواست گزار، محمد عمران اور محمد آصف، شامل ہیں جنہوں نے ایک ٹریکٹر کی مبینہ چوری سے متعلق مقدمے میں، جو پاکستان پینل کوڈ کی دفعات 381-الف اور 411 کے تحت درج کیا گیا تھا، گرفتاری کے بعد ضمانت کے لیے درخواست دی۔ مدعی کا کہنا تھا کہ اس کا ٹریکٹر رات کے دوران فارم پر کھڑا ہونے کے دوران غائب ہو گیا، تاہم ایف آئی آر واقعے کے آٹھ دن بعد درج کرائی گئی اور اس تاخیر کی کوئی وضاحت پیش نہیں کی گئی۔
درخواست گزاروں کا نام اصل ایف آئی آر میں شامل نہیں تھا اور ان کے خلاف کوئی براہ راست ثبوت موجود نہیں تھا۔ انہیں بعد میں مدعی کے ایک ضمنی بیان کے ذریعے ملزم ٹھہرایا گیا۔ عدالت نے نوٹ کیا کہ مبینہ طور پر چوری شدہ مال کی برآمدگی درخواست گزاروں اور ایک شریک ملزم کی مشترکہ نشاندہی پر ہوئی تھی، جسے ماتحت عدالت پہلے ہی ضمانت دے چکی تھی، اور مدعی نے اس فیصلے کو کبھی چیلنج نہیں کیا۔
لاہور ہائی کورٹ نے قرار دیا
Generated from the full judgment text below — not a substitute for reading the actual opinion.
PLJ 2015 Cr.C . (Lahore) 244 Present: James Joseph , J. MUHAMMAD IMRAN, etc. --Petitioners versus STATE, etc. --Respondents Crl . Misc. No. 11237-B of 2014, decided on 19.9.2014. Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 (V of 1898)-- ----S. 497(2)--Pakistan Penal Code, (XLV of 1860), Ss. 381-A & 411--Bail, grant of--Further inquiry--There was a delay of eight days in lodging of FIR which has not been explained--Allegedly petitioners were not nominated in FIR nor there was any direct evidence against them--They were involved in the present case on the basis of supplementary statement made by complainant--Evidentiary value of such kind of supplementary statement shall be adjudged by trial Court after recording of evidence--A joint recovery of stolen property has been shown to be effected on pointation of petitioners and co-accused--Co-accused has already been released on bail by Court of Additional Sessions Judge--Same has not been assailed by complainant at any forum--Offences with which petitioners were charged do not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497, Cr.P.C ., grant of bail in such kind of cases is a rule and its refusal is an exception--Investigation qua petitioners was complete and challan has been submitted before trial Court where trial has not been commenced so-far--They were stated to be non convicts and no useful purpose would be served by keeping them behind bars for an indefinite period--Matter required further inquiry into guilt of petitioners as contemplated u/S. 497(2), Cr.P.C .--Petition was allowed. [P. 245] A Mr. A.D. Bhatti , Advocate for Petitioners. Rana Muhammad Shafique , DPG assisted by Rai Muhammad Shahbaz Bhatti , Advocate for Complainant. Date of hearing: 19.9.2014. Order Muhammad Imran and Muhammad Asif petitioners seek post-arrest bail in case FIR No. 114/2014 dated 17.5.2014 for offences under Sections 381-A/411 PPC registered at P.S. sadder Kamalia District Toba Tek Singh.
2. Briefly the prosecution story as unfolded in the FIR is that the complainant on the intervening night between 08/09-05-2014 parked his tractor on the farm of Malik Sarif and when he woke up in the morning, he found his tractor missing.
3. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
4. There is a delay of eight (08) days in lodging of the FIR which has not been explained. Allegedly the petitioners are not nominated in the FIR nor there is any direct evidence against them. They were involved in the present case on the basis of supplementary statement made by the complainant on 27.05.2014. The evidentiary value of such kind of supplementary statement shall be adjudged by the learned trial Court after recording of evidence. A joint recovery of stolen property has been shown to be effected on the pointation of petitioners and one Anser Abbas . Co-accused Anser Abbas has already been released on bail by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge Kamalia vide order dated 05.07.2014. The same has not been assailed by the complainant at any forum. The offences with which the petitioners are charged do not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497, Cr.P.C . grant of bail in such kind of cases is a rule and its refusal is an exception. Investigation qua the petitioners is complete and challan has been submitted before the trial Court where the trial has not been commenced so-far. They are stated to be non convicts and no useful purpose would be served by keeping them behind the bars for an indefinite period.
5. In view of the above, the matter requires further inquiry into the guilt of the petitioners as contemplated under Section 497 (2), Cr.P.C . Resultantly this petition is allowed and the petitioners are admitted to post-arrest bail subject to their furnishing ball bonds in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (rupees on lac only) each with one surety each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial Court. The observations made above are tentative in nature. (A.S.) Bail allowed