Vide judgment dated 27-4-1993 the Additional Sessions Judge, Bahawalpur convicted and sentenced Ghulam Hussain and Muhammad Amin/petitioners to life imprisonment each and to pay compensation in the sum of Rs.20,000 each to the heirs of the deceased or in default of its payment they were directed to undergo R.I. For a period of six months under section 302/34, P. P. C.
2. Due to the lapse of a period of two years and expressing that their appeal has not been disposed of both the petitioners-convicts-appellants have filed this application for the suspension of the sentence under section 426(1--A)(c), Cr.P.C. This application has been resisted by the State and the complainant.
3. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties as well as the learned A.A.-G. And gone through the record before me. It is the admitted position that the statutory period of two years from the date of conviction of the petitioners has elapsed. Learned counsel for the petitioners has referred to Muhammad Yaqoob and others v. The State 1991 SCMR 1459 and Tahir Mahmood v. The State PLD 1995 Lah. 142 and laid emphasis. That the petitioners have earned a valuable right due to the fact that their appeal has not been disposed of within two years after the conviction. On the contrary learned counsel for the complainant has referred to Abdur Rashid v. The State (1988 SCMR 149) as well as Ghulam Hussain v. The State (1994 PCr.LJ 389 Lahore) and argued that there are no legal and factual reasons for the admission of the petitioners to bail. Without prejudice I am tempted to express that right from the beginning the contention of the petitioners is that the occurrence has taken place due to Ghairat at the Dera of the petitioners at odd hours and since no extenuating circumstance has been mentioned in the judgment dated 27-4-1993 for the lesser punishment it can safely be expressed that due to the lapse of a period of two years from the date of conviction (27-4-1993) of the petitioners, they are entitled to get an order for the suspension of the sentence and for their admission to bail. The aforesaid ruling 1991 SCMR 1459 is attracted to the facts of the matter in hand.
4. For what has been said above I accept this application and suspend the sentence of both the petitioners-convicts. Consequently they are admitted to bail in the sum of Rs.1,00,000 (rupees one lac) each with one surety each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Sessions Judge/Duty Sessions Judge, Bahawalpur.