LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that if a suspect has a good case for post-arrest bail, then merely on the wish of the complainant he cannot be sent behind bars by denying him pre-arrest bail.

Justice Tariq Nadeem passes the ruling confirming the pre-arrest bail of four suspects in an abduction case registered under section 365 of PPC.

The judge observes that after going through the narration of the First Information Report (FIR) and the evidentiary material collected by police and presented before court, it divulges that there is a delay of seven days in registration of the FIR and no exegesis has been given by the complainant with respect to this delay, which indicates that FIR has been lodged with due deliberation and consultation.

The judge further observes that a careful reading of the FIR reveals that an offence under section 365 is not constituted because it is admitted fact that at the time of alleged occurrence the petitioners/suspects and the complainant were present on the spot and in the presence of complainant, the petitioners abducted his son and took him at the shop of one of the suspects.

The judge notes section 365 will be applied in case of kidnapping and abduction of any person with intention to be secretly and wrongfully confined. However, the judge observes that final determination of the offence will be made by the trial court after recording and evaluating the evidence. He says the allegations of torture and beating have not been supported by medical report of the victim.

The judge states that criminal and civil litigation has been pending between the parties, therefore, false involvement of the petitioners in the case at the hands of the complainant party cannot be ruled out.

Justice Nadeem observes that it is not possible in each and every case to prove the mala fide but the same can be gathered from the facts and circumstances of the case.

“Even otherwise, if an accused person has a good case for post- arrest bail then mere at the wish of the complainant, he cannot be sent behind the bars for few days by dismissing his application for pre-arrest bail,” he adds.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2021