1. The petitioner felt aggrieved by the order of the trial Magis--trate, dated the 15th of March 1972, whereby the prayer of the local police for being handed over the personal custody of Nisar Khan accused, who had reportedly absconded in the first Instance in a case of murder, was refused. The learned Magistrate had relied on the judgment of the High Court reported as Muhammad Hayat and another v. The State (1969 P Cr. L J 786). The petition was admitted with notice to the respondents for today. Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed before me a certi--fied copy of an unreported judgment of the Supreme Court, dated the 17th of March 1972, passed in State v.
2. Fateh Muhammad Criminal Appeal No. 20 of 1971. Setting aside the order of my learned brother Ghulam Safdar Shah, J., dated the 11th of November 1970, passed in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 7448 of 1970, their Lordships have held after elaborate discussion that "the statutory right of the police to Investigate a cognizable offence cannot be circumvented by the accused by avoiding the police and surrendering before a Magistrate". Accordingly, I allow this petition and set aside the impugned order.