Through this application under Section 498 Cr.P.C., Mirza Muhammad Ramzan the petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail in a case FIR No. 337-2006, dated 13.3.2006, registered under Section 406 PPC at Police Station Defence Area, Lahore, on the application of Sohail Ahmad, the complainant.
2. According to the facts of the FIR, the petitioner alongwith the co-accused had committed breach of trust in the wake of managing transfer of Car Bearing Registration No. LOD-4203 owned by the complainant.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that the petitioner had allegedly put his signature on the receipt and identified Asad Shah, when he received an amount of Rs. 69,000/-, but the petitioner did not tamper with any document and no such document has so far been taken into possession by the police; that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case due to suspicion, that there was dispute of civil nature between the co-accused and the complainant, which has been converted into criminal offence with malafide intention; that even otherwise, the petitioner is not connected with the offence in any manner as he was not beneficiary of the alleged transaction and he is entitled to the concession of pre-arrest bail.
4. The learned Deputy Prosecutor General for the State has opposed this bail petition.
5. From the perusal of record, it shows that the petitioner had not tampered with any document and such receipt had not been received from his possession by the police. He had only put his signature on the receipt for the verification of Asad Shah, who had sold the vehicle to one Ramzan.
From the bare perusal of the FIR, it appears that there was dispute of civil nature between the parties for the purchase and sale of the vehicle, which has been converted into criminal offence.
For the time being, there is no evidence on the record that the petitioner had committed any breach of trust with the complainant. The sending of the petitioner to jail will not advance the prosecution case any more as nothing is to be recovered from the petitioner, who admittedly was not beneficiary of the alleged fraud committed with the complainant, Even otherwise, there was delay of about 3 months in the registration of the FIR, which is very significant and possibility of fasle implication of the petitioner cannot be ruled out
6. For the foregoing reasons, the instant bail petition is accepted and ad-interim pre-arrest bail already granted to the petitioner is hereby confirmed subject to furnishing fresh bail bonds in the sum, of Rs. 1,00,000/- with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court.