This is a petition under section 498, Cr. P. C., for the release of the ten petitioners on bail who are facing an enquiry along with to others Nawab Din and Ibrahim (already on bail) in a case under sections 148, 302/307/149, P. P. C., in the Court of Assis--tant Commissioner, Jaranwala. They are alleged to have caused the murder of Sadiq Ali their co-villager and injuries to Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Tufail and Muhammad Ishaq P. Ws., in prosecution of the common object of an unlawful assembly formed by them while armed with dangs on the evening of 10th July 1969 in the area of their Chak No. 83, G. B. P. S. Satiana District, Lyallpur who were arrested on 12-7-69 and are in the judicial lock-up since then.
2. The defence plea is that the complainant party armed with deadly weapons raided the house of Ibrahim (on bail) and caused injuries to five of the inmates, namely, Abbas Nawaz petitioners, Mst.
Hidayat Bibi, Mst. Razia Begum and Tasawar Hussain and in exercise of their right of private defence they had caused injuries to the other party but the local police refused to register a case at their instance when approached by them on the same evening and advised them to get themselves medically examined, but as it had got very late that night they were examined on the next day by the doctors. In the meanwhile, through the good offices of to of their relatives, Muhammad Munir (Head Constable; CIA Lyallpur) and Muhammad Yousaf (S. I. Police retired), the complainant party had managed to get a false case registered against them and it was after repeated representations to the senior police officers that a cross-case was later registered against the complainant party under sections 148, 307/149, P. P. C.
3. It appears from the "Karvai" police under the F. I. R. Of the cross-case that the S. S. P., Lyallpur had sent the file to the Public. Prosecutor for his advice in the matter who had given his opinion as under :- "After going through the record of this case I have found that there are to clear versions of the occurrence regarding the place of occurrence and the manner in which it had taker) place. Five persons including to women of the accused party had been injured but their injuries have not been explained by the complainant party. The medico-legal reports are on record. In the face of the circumstances of this case it would be expedient in the interest of justice to register a case against the complainant party also and let the innocence or guilty of any of them be processed in the lower Court.
(Sd.) Sarfraz Ahmad, A. P. P., Lyallpur, 16-8-69."
Agreeing with this opinion of the A. P. P., the S. S. P., Lyallpur ordered the registration of a cross-case against the complainant party.
4. It was urged before me that the District Inspector of Police, Jaranwala, and an Inspector of the Crimes Branch, Lahore, had also investigated the case and the latter had found the above defence plea as correct and had declared eight of the accused from the side of the petitioners as innocent.
In fact a typed copy of the report of this officer had been attached with this petition as Annexure "A". I had accordingly sent for the police file and perused it with the assistance of the learned State counsel and the Investigating Officer, which has confirmed it. In fact Mr. Khalid Masood, District Inspector of Police, Jaranwala, as Officer-in-Charge of this Circle had, in the course of verification proceedings of the investigation held by the local police in the main case, collected sufficient evidence which supported the defence version but on some representations made by the com-- plainant party he was relieved of the investigation by a D. S. P. From the Headquarters, who challaned all the accused.
5. On a subsequent representation to the Inspector-General of Police, West Pakistan, Mr. Sikandar Khan, Inspector Crime Branch, was deputed to re-investigate the case. He had reported that the complainant party were the aggressors as they had attacked the petitioners at the door steps of the house of Ibrahim (on bail) resulting in a fight and injuries to both the parties. He had also found Nawab Din and Ibrahim (already on bail), Yaqub Fateh Din, Ashiq, Arshad, Lal Din and Taleamand (petitioners as innocent and falsely implicated in this case at the instance of the aforesaid Muhammad Munir (H. C. Police) and Muhammad Yousaf (S. I. Police retired), but as the challan had in the mean while been put in Court and the enquiry had been started in the case, he thought it fit to leave the decision of the matter to the Court.
6. None of the to counsel had any information about the progress of the to cases, so the case was adjourned and the State counsel intimated on 28th July 1970 that evidence of twelve out of 22 prosecution witnesses had been recorded in the main case and the case was posted for the remaining evidence to 29th July 1970, while the proceedings in the cross-case had not yet been taken in hand. As the Magistrate is to give his verdict after recording the evidence in both the cases, it is likely to take quite long and the petitioners are in the judicial lock-up for over a year now.
Most of them are to appear as prosecution witnesses in the cross-case and all the accused of that case are on bail.
7. To sum up, there are to cross-cases arising out of the same occurrence with to clear-cut versions indicative of the fact that the police had originally failed to take a decision as to which of the to parties were the aggressors and that on reinvestiga--tion, under the orders of the Inspector- General of Police, by the Crime Branch, the version put forward by the petitioners was found to be correct and six of the petitioners, namely, Yaqub. Fateh Din, Ashiq, Arshad, Lai Din and Taleamand, and Nawab Din and Ibrahim (already on bail) were found to have been falsely implicated in this case. Although this finding of the; Inspector Crimes Branch has no legal value but being adverse to the prosecution, would put one on enquiry as to the veracity of the prosecution case, as observed by their Lordships of the; Supreme Court in Rehmat Ullah Khan alias Rehman v. The State' and others (1970 SC N R 299). Taking this view of the matter, I admit all they petitioners to bail who shall be released from custody on their furnishing a bond in the sum of Rs. 10,000 each with one surety each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Enquiry Magis--trate (A. C. Jaranwala).
8. If after the completion of the enquiry in the to cases, a prima facie case for charge under sections 148, 302/307/149, P. P. C., is made out against any of the accused, the Magistrate will be at liberty to cancel their bail and send them to the Judicial lock-up till the decision of the case.