SARDAR AHMED NAEEM, J.---The petitioners seek pre-arrest bail in case FIR No.289/ 2018 dated 09.05.2018, under sections 420, 468, 471, P.P.C., registered at Police Station Jhumra, Faisalabad.
2. The allegation against the petitioner is that of committing fraud/forgery.
3. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and perusing the record, it was noticed that the occurrence took place on 20.04.2011 and the FIR was registered with unexplained delay of about seven years. The complainant is not a party to the disputed agreement to sell. During the investigation, the executant of the said agreement including Khalid Iqbal and Tanveer Kausar has not joined the investigation. A civil suit between the parties was pending adjudication prior to the registration of FIR. The subject matter of the said suit is the property mentioned in the FIR. The petitioners have joined the investigation and as the agreement is appended with the said suit, thus, no recovery is to be effected from them. Above all, the Investigating Agency has not supported the complainant version and categorically opined that there was no evidence against the petitioners except the balled statement of the complainant. In a recent judgment, the apex Court observed that at pre-arrest bail stage, it was difficult for the accused to prove the element of mala fide through positive/solid evidence/material, therefore, the same was to be deduced and inferred from the facts and circumstances of the case and that where events or hints to such effect are available, same would validly constitute the element of mala fide. Reference, in this context, can be placed on "Khalil Ahmed Soomro v. The State" (PLD 2017 SC 730). Mala fide was also pleaded in the application and there was no allegation of the misuse of ad-interim pre-arrest bail.
4. In view of the above, the application is accepted and ad-interim pre-arrest bail earlier granted to the petitioner is confirmed subject to his furnishing fresh bail bonds in the sum of Rs. 1,00,000/ -