1. The applicant has been sent up for trial before the Court of Special Judge (Narcotics) Karachi West on the allegation of recovery of 12 kg. Opium from him. Bail plea of the applicant has been rejected by the trial Court and, therefore, the present application has been filed.
2. Mr. Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada, learned counsel for the applicant, has mentioned various grounds to seek bail for the applicant. They include that the police station that made the investigation and allegedly recovered the opium had no jurisdiction since the recovery was made from a place beyond the jurisdiction of that police station; compliance with the requirement of section 103, Criminal Procedure Code has not been made and no person from the locality was made a witness to the recovery; that some persons have filed affidavits to prove that the applicant was arrested two days before the date of arrest and recovery mentioned in the F.I.R.; that section 51(l) of the Control of Narcotics Substances Act is not a total bar and the High Court has jurisdiction to grant bail notwithstanding that provision and, finally, a plea of alibi.
3. On the point regarding bar of section 51(1) of Control of Narcotics Substances Act, the learned counsel for the applicant relied on the case of Gul Hassan Dero v. The State 2000 PCr.LJ 657.
4. Mr. Shoaib Ashraf, the learned Special Public Prosecutor for Anti-Narcotics Force, has replied to the contentions made, by Mr. Pirzada and both the learned counsel have referred to a number of authorities on these points.
5. On the point of bar under section 51(1) of Control of Narcotic Substances Act Mr. Shoaib Ashraf relied on the case of Mehboob-ur-Rehman v The State 2000 PCr.LJ 569.
6. 1999 SCMR 1271 and unreported judgment of the Supreme Court in Criminal Petition No.53-K of 1998 State v. Mubeen Khan, held that section 51(1) of Control of Narcotics Substances Act provided a bar to grant of bail to an accused if the trial Court has framed a charge against him for an offence relating to narcotics punishable with death or, till the stage before a charge had been framed by the trial Court, if sufficient material is available for framing such a charge, more than mere allegation in the F.I.R.