1. ZULFIQAR AHMAD KHAN, J.---Through the instant application made under section 561-A, Cr.P.C., order passed by V-Additional Sessions Judge/Ex-of ficio Justice of Peace Sukkur dated 05.09.2018 has been impugned.
2. Brief facts giving rise to the instant applic ation are that on account of a business transaction which allegedly took place between the applicant and the respondent No.3 where the said respondent purchased wheat in the sum of Rs.6,25,000 but defaulted on making payments in respect thereof despite repeated attempts and eventually becoming hostile on 30.07.2018 at about 6:30pm when the applicant along with Ishfaque Hussain and Kareem Bakhsh were retiring in their Otaq, he along with his brother Asad Mahar , duly armed with pistols, accompanying another brother Qadeer Mahar (armed with Lathi) , together with Abid Hussain (also armed with Lathi) and Akbar Mahar , armed with a pistol, alongside one unidentified person forcibly entered the Otaq, when Aslam, Asad and Akbar pointed their pistols towards the applicant party , gave threats of murder to the applicant, and Aslam after abusing the applicant gave him butt blow of pistol at his right forearm, while Qadeer gave Lathi blow at right leg of the applicant below the knee joint, while Abid gave Lathi blow at right knee joint and Akbar gave butt blow at scalp
(head) of the applicant, but upon hue and cry made by the applicant, they all left the Otaq giving murder threats.
3. Thereafter the applicant along with witnesses went to Police Station Rohri, where he was referred to Taluka Hospital for treatment and to seek appropriate Medical Certificate. However , when the applicant along with Medical Certificate from MLO reached the Police Station, Police did not record his statement and kept him on false hopes for filing FIR. Faced with this situation, the applicant on 27.08.2018 moved an application before the Court of learned Vth Additional Sessions Judge/Justice of Peace Sukkur under section 22-A/B, Cr.P.C. attaching copy of the Medical Certificate issued by the concer ned MLO dated 31.07.2018 (Annexure-D). A report was called from the concerned Police Station (Annexure C), which affirmed that concerned SHO directed the applicant to seek a Medical Certificate and thereafter to come back to the Police Station. Upon hearing parties and their respective counsel, following (impugned) order was passed on 05.09.2018.
4. "Heard learned counsel for the applicant/complainant and applicant/complainant in person.
5. Learned counsel for the applicant/complainant supported the contents of the memo. of application and he also relied upon 2007 PCr.LJ 909 (DB), 2013 PCr.LJ 117, PLD 2007 (SC) 539, 2013 PCr.LJ 144, 2014 PCr.LJ 1347, 2009 PCr .LJ 634 and 2012 PCr .LJ 180.
6. From the perusal of contents of memo of application and during hearing applicant/complainant, it appears that there is a dispute over an outstanding amount between the applicant and proposed accused person, which is purely civil type of nature.
7. Under these facts and circumstances, the application in hand seems absolutely without merits, I, therefore, hereby dismiss the application in hand; however the applicant is at liberty to approach the Civil Court having jurisdiction for redressing of his grievances if any . The Application in hand stands disposed of accordingly ."
8. Per learned counsel for the applicant, the incident took place on 30.07.2018 at about 6.30 pm, whereafter the applicant immediately went to Police Station whence he was directed to obtain appropriate medico legal certificate, which as per the MLO Report was carried out the same evening at 8:00 p.m. which specified applicant's injuries as
(1) Lacerated Wound measuring 3xlcm muscle deep on the Right lower leg below the knee joint... (2) Linear Bruise measuring... on the Right forearm; (3) Bruise measuring 6x6 cm on the... region of Scalp; and (4) Abrasives measuring 2x2 cm on the right knee joint. The said Report even points out those being acts of Mutafahimah; Shajjah-i-Khafifah; Ghayr-jaifah and other hurts being offences cognizable under P.P.C. Counsel for applicant further states that all these facts were narrated and brought forward to the Court of learned Vth-Additional Sessions Judge as well as medico legal certificate having been shown, but the learned Judge chose to pass the impugned order which does not even detail the assertions of the complainant and also fails to discuss the ratio of the judgments cited by the applicant's counsel, thus being an illegal, non-speaking and void order . Per counsel, the said order has closed the doors of justice upon the applicant at the first instance and the learned Judge has chosen to let the said order act as a final verdict announcing acquittal to the accused persons. It is prayed that the said order be set aside and as per the scheme laid down by Cr.P.C., SHO Police Station Rohri be directed to record the statement of the applicant under section 154, and since cognizable offence has already been made out from the MLO's report, an FIR be registered.
9. Learned counsel appearing for respondents Nos. 4 to 7, files objections to the instant application, taken on record, copy supplied to the applicant's counsel who chose to proceed with the matter . Learned counsel for the respondents 4 to 7 states that the appli cant has approached the Court with mala fide intentions and wants to achieve his ulterior motives after having managed to obtain an engineered Medical Certificate. He denies that any such incident took place between the parties and rather states that the respondent No. 7 is working in Sukkur Electric Power Company and at the time of incident he was present on the duty. He states that the medical certificate is full of doubts as it seems that the injuries might have been caused to the applicant upon him slipping from a motorcycle. With regard the financial transaction, learned counsel denies any such dealings, and puts the applicant on proof to provide any documentary proof of delivery of wheat, and similar proof for making demand of the allegedly unpaid debts. He rather states that the respondents are themselves respectable landlords having their own agricultural lands since their ancesto r's time. He prays that the application be dismissed with costs as there are no illegalities in the impugned order .
10. Learned D.P.G submits that the impugned order , on account of being vague and non-speaking, has violated Section 24-A of the General Clauses Act, 1897, thus culpable for dismissal.
11. Learned counsel for the applicant by way of rebuttal states that in fact a number of FIRs are pending against respondent Nos. 4 to 7, which fact was not denied by the learned counsel representing these respondents.
12. Admittedly despite service, neither the respondent No.3 appeared in person nor engaged a. counsel to represent him in the instant case.
13. Heard the parties and perused the material available before me.
14. Without touching merits of the case, it's worth reiterating that Section 154 Cr.P.C. clearly provides one of the most expeditious mode of putting criminal law into motion in respect of commission of cognizable offences, which requires that substance of every informa tion relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given to an officer In-charge of a Police Station, shall be entered in a book kept by such officer in the form prescribed in this behalf. On receiving such information, the law requires the said officer to immediately send report of the same to Magistrate empowered in this behalf and to take necessary steps for discovery and arrest of the offender . Even in case under proviso (b) to Section 157(1) and subsection (2) to section 157, if the said officer is of the view that there was no sufficient ground to conduct the investigations, he, after recording reasons to that effect, may decline to investigate, however he cannot refuse to enter substance of such information in the book. Section 154, Cr.P.C. thus gives mandatory directions to the officer for the registration of a case where a cognizable offence has been reported to him, irrespective of the fact that information downloaded upon him is correct or otherwise. Through a plethora of judgments carved in stone, it has attained an established position that the said officer cannot refuse to record FIR where the information conveyed to him discloses the commission of a cognizable offence. This mandatory duty is balanced with the presence of a number of provisions embodied in the form of Sections 169, 551, 63, 190, 249-A and 265-K Cr.P.C. which provide remedies against false FIRs. In fact lodging a false FIR against someone constitutes a punishable of fence under Sections 182 and 21 1 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
15. In the case at hand I am of the humble view that the applicant's case had sufficient strength to put the criminal law into motion, thus an illegality seemingly was committed when his attempt to register an FIR was suppressed, since for the aforementioned reasons, as and when a person comes to a police station and makes a statement relating to the commission of an offence, SHO is bound to record his version in verbatim, there after if from the contents thereof it appears that a cognizable case is made out, further proceedings in acco rdance with law are to ensue; in the alternate the person has to be informed accordingly so that he may seek his remedy from the competent forums, which clearly hasn't been done.
16. Also seen from the short impugned order is the fact that the learned Vth Additi onal Sessions Judge/Justice of Peace Sukkur brushed aside contentions of the applicant in a cursory manner without taking the trouble of confronting himself with the evidence which came to him in the form of the Medical Certificate and directed the applicant to seek civil remedy , when there is no restriction to seek criminal as well as a civil remedy , if the conduct of any of the party had paved way for such a cause. The allegation that a civil dispute resulted into a cognizable offence should not have been totally refuted by the learned Judge as an impossibility . Sketchy , non-speaking and devoid of reason, cyclostyled orders without referring to any material or evidence do not aspire confidence at higher forums. In the case reported as 2016 SCMR 40 (Wasal Khan v. Dr. Niaz Ali Khan ) the Apex Court has held that courts were under obligation to facilitate the litigant to a maximum extent by passing a clear order , giving direction without any ambiguity to the litigant to act in a certain way and in a particular manner . In the case reported as 2018 YLR 318 (Asif Ali Jatoi v. SHO Police Station Qasimabad ) on a non-speaking order passed under section 22-A/B, Cr.P.C., court having observed that the order passed by Ex-Of ficio Justice of Peace was not speaking order and based upon surmises and conjectur es, dismissed the said order . In the case reported as 2015 PCr.LJ 790 (Mst. Haseena v. SHO Police Station Kotdiji ) having observed that the impugned order suffered from infirmity and was not a speaking order as no valid reason had been mentioned therein in order to show that the prayer made by applicant was declined after proper application of mind and legal principles and appreciation of material available on record, the court set aside the same and concerned SHO was directed to recor d the statement of the petitioner , and if such statement reflected the ingredients of cognizable offence, then to register an FIR. In the case reported as 2008 YLR 2301 (Muhammad Mushtaq v. Additional Session Judge Lahore ) court having observed that since office of Justice of Peace was a legal forum performing administrative and ministerial functions; complaints against action or inaction of police were filed by aggrieved persons before this forum; its orders were subject to scrutiny by superior courts having constitutional, supervisory and inherent judicial jurisdiction and orders passed by Justice of Peace were subject to scrutiny on judicial side by superior courts of Pakistan, therefore, the said administrative legal forum was required to dispose of applications under S. 22-A/B, Cr.P.C. by means of speaking and well- reasoned order in the light of available material without holding trial or mini trial of the controversy .
17. In the circumstances where the impugned order clearly suffers from infirmity , being not a speaking order specifying no valid reasons that the prayer made by applicant was declined after, full, proper and independent application of mind applying requisite legal principles and appreciation of material available on record, I am pleased to set aside the same and concerned SHO is directed to record the statement of the applicant; and if from such a statement, ingredients of a cognizable offence are found, to register a case and proceed with the same in accordance with law and send a compliance report to Addl. Registrar of this Court within a fortnight.