KARACHI, June 13: The Sindh High Court admitted Jam Saqi to pre-arrest bail in a kidnapping case and confirmed the interim bail granted in the case to his detained wife, Akhtar Sultana, on Monday. Disposing of a writ petition moved by the couple through Advocates Syed Iqbal Haider and Rasheed A. Razvi, a division bench, comprising Justices M Mujibullah Siddiqui and Maqbool Baqar, restrained the police from re-arresting either of the petitioners in a ‘blind’ first information report or in a FIR nominating him or her as accused but registered over a year ago without seeking the court’s permission.
Ms Sultana has been re-arrested in a theft case registered in 1999 and her bail application in the case was to come up before a judicial magistrate later on Monday.
In the kidnapping case, in which she was initially arrested and enlarged on bail by the high court, she is alleged to have abducted her sister’s minor son for ransom. Her counsel said on Monday that the 1999 theft case was a blind FIR resurrected to keep her in custody after grant of bail. The arrest was manifestly mala fide, they submitted.
Assistant Advocate-General Habib Ahmed stated that Ms Sultana was a nominated accused in the 1999 case and the FIR was not ‘blind’ as alleged. Insofar as the kidnapping case was concerned, the anti-terrorism courts’ administrative judge, while remanding the accused, had asked the investigation officer to visit Sukkur to ascertain whether the abducted boy was living with his parents as claimed. If the boy was found to be in lawful custody, the case against the petitioners would be dropped, the AAG submitted.
The bench observed that the police or any other agency did not have unbridled authority to curtail the liberty of citizens. It referred to Articles 4 (right to be dealt with in accordance with the law), 9 (security of person), 14 (dignity of man) and 227 (Islamic injunctions) and observed that the Constitution does not countenance arbitrary arrest or detention.
About relief of quashment of the case/s and damages for malicious prosecution and unlawful confinement, etc., the petitioners were asked to institute appropriate proceedings independently.
SULTAN FREED: According to a report received later, Ms Sultana was released by police on Monday evening following bail order by judicial magistrate Fateh Memon. Her son-in-law Iqbal Mallah executed the bail bond.
