May 14, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 13: The existing procedure of bail is not only creating problems for the people, specially those who are implicated in false cases, but also encouraging corruption and tout culture in the capital courts, a survey conducted by Dawn revealed.

Submitting registration documents of an immovable property as surety bond before a court for seeking bail is stated to be the root cause of corruption. Hundreds of people have been sent behind bars by the police for not arranging a guarantor who has property in Islamabad, a lawyer said.

A source said those who could not arrange surety of immovable property for their bail had to give money to the touts in the district courts for arranging a registry of an immovable property.

He said: “These touts charge Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 to stand bail for the accused. Their (touts) registry document are used in more than 10 to 15 bail cases in connivance with the staff of the court.”

The lawyer said a man, whether guilty or not, had to get bail from the court. He had to arrange a guarantor who owned property in Islamabad because the registry was produced before the court for seeking bail, he added.

“If a person is implicated in a case, but cannot get help of his friends or relatives who own an immovable property in the capital, he is unable to obtain bail from the court,” another lawyer at the district courts said.

“As the majority of the people in Islamabad come from various cities, most of them have no immediate relative who owns an immovable property in the capital,” he said. Such a person cannot meet the court’s requirement and is, therefore, sent behind bars, he added.

Some of the bail petitioners told Dawn that the authority concerned should make the law easy for people.

A senior lawyer said the law under which bail was granted to the accused and whether production of immovable property was necessary was not mentioned in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

He said if the court was satisfied with any other type of surety bond, it could grant bail without production of registry of an immovable property.