ISLAMABAD: Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that mere technicalities and non-appearance for genuine reason could not have the overriding effect on the fundamental rights of a suspect.

Justice Minhas has granted pre-arrest bail to Chaudhry Nadeem Amir, accused in a fraud case, while overturning the lower court’s dismissal of his petition over non-appearance. Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas, in his ruling, emphasised that procedural technicalities should not undermine an accused’s statutory rights, especially in bailable offences.

The petitioner, Chaudhry Nadeem Amir, was implicated in FIR No. 82 of 2022 under Sections 420 (cheating) and 170 (impersonating a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The complainant alleged that Amir, posing as a CIA employee, fraudulently obtained Rs700,000 for the sale of a commercial plot he did not own.

Amir had filed three pre-arrest bail petitions before the additional sessions judge, all dismissed for non-prosecution. The first two petitions were rejected due to his absence, which he attributed to a PTI rally causing traffic disruptions. The third petition was dismissed for failing to justify his earlier non-appearance, with the court relying on a precedent involving a non-bailable offence — a move the IHC termed “erroneous”.

Justice Minhas noted that the offences in question were bailable, making bail a statutory right under Section 496 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The court criticised the lower court for exercising “arbitrary discretion” and ignoring settled legal principles.

“Where a petition for pre-arrest bail in a bailable offence is presented, the court has no discretion except to grant bail,” the judgement stated, citing Alam Zeb vs. The State (PLD 2014 SC 760).

The IHC also highlighted that procedural delays should not negate an accused’s rights, particularly when genuine reasons such as traffic disruptions were provided.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2025