LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on Thursday showed dismay over denial of pre-arrest bail to the suspects in bailable offences by the lower and high courts.

A two-judge bench headed by the chief justice was hearing an appeal by Yasir Khan Rokhri and Umar Khan Rokhri, challenging the bail dismissal orders of a sessions court and the Lahore High Court in a case of brawl.

They alleged that Defence-A police had registered the case against them at the behest of a nephew of the then inspector general of police Mushtaq Sukhera.

The FIR contained Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 337 A1 (doing any act with the intention of thereby causing hurt to any person), 337 F2 (doing any act with the intention of causing hurt to any person), 337 L2 (causeing hurt which does not endanger life), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Advocate Bushra Qamar argued on behalf of the petitioners that all the offences mentioned in the FIR against her clients were bailable but both the courts rejected their bail petitions.

To a court query, the counsel pointed out that the same argument was made before the sessions and the high courts but both forums denied the petitioners their right to bail in bailable offences.

Chief Justice Khosa regretted that even the trial court and the high court ignored the point that an accused could not be denied bail in a bailable offense. He observed that such matters should not even come to the Supreme Court.

The chief justice noted that the Punjab inspector general of police recently authorised the station house officers (SHOs) to grant bail to accused in bailable cases.

The bench confirmed pre-arrest bails of the petitioners subject to furnishing bail bonds of Rs50,000 each.

WARRANTS: A sessions court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for four suspects, including PML-N MPA Sohail Shaukat Butt, for not joining trial proceedings of murder case of PPP leader Babar Sohail Butt.

The court directed the police to produce the suspects on next hearing. Babar Butt was gunned down at his residence in Manawan area on March 12, 2017.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2019