Fasih-ud-Din and Liaquat Ali petitioners by way of the instant petition have prayed for transfer of the criminal case presently pending against them in the Court of Mr. Muhammad Imran Farooq, learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Pakpattan Sharif to some other District to ensure fair play and justice to them.
2. Briefly the relevant facts for the disposal of the instant petition are that case FIR No, 57 of 2009 was registered with Police Station Farid Nagar, District Pakpattan Sharif on the written application of Muhammad Arif, Superintendent, Sessions Court, Pakpattan Sharif. The petitioners are accused therein, besides one Samiud-Din, who stood declared innocent by the police. The said case is presently pending in the aforesaid Court.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that as the Superintendent, Sessions. Court is the complainant in the case against the petitioners and mostly the witnesses are the employees of the Sessions Court including the Stenographer of the learned Sessions Judge and hence, they apprehend that they may not get even handed justice at the hands of the subordinate Court to the learned Sessions Judge at Pakpattan Sharif and so, the case may be transferred to some other District in the interest of justice.
4. The learned Deputy Prosecutor-General has opposed the request saying that the apprehension shown by the petitioners is ill based. Respondent No, 2 has simply stated that he stood transferred from Pakpattan Sharif to Multan and his statement in the case stood recorded and so, he has been left with no interest in the matter.
5. I have carefully considered the submissions made on behalf of parties.
6. The copy of the report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. in the case is annexed to the present petition. The same shows that Respondent No, 2 Muhammad Arif, Superintendent, Sessions Court, Pakpattan Sharif is the complainant in the same. The same also shows that there are as many as eleven witnesses in the case. Out of them besides the complainant, Stenographer and other officials of Sessions Court are witnesses therein. In such situation, in order to ensure fair play and justice to the parties, I deem it appropriate to withdraw the case from the present Court at Pakpattan Sharif and transfer the same to the Court of the learned Sessions Judge, Sahiwal, who shall onward entrust the same to some competent Court of Magistrate in his District for disposal in accordance with law.
Order accordingly. The petition so, succeeds. The parties to appear there on 06.05.2010.