KHALIL-UR-REHMAN RAMDAY, J.- This petition arises out of a case F.I.R, bearing No, 8, dated 7.2.1999 of Police Station, Chakrala- of District Mianwali which case was registered inter alia regarding the murder of one Mumtaz who was an Assistant, Sub- Inspector of Police serving in Karachi.
2. The challan in the present case appears to have been submitted in the Special Court set-up at Sargodha under the Anti- Terrorism Act of 1 997 which Court sent the said Case to the Court of Session on 7.5.1999 observing that the same had no nexus with the provisions of Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the said Anti- Terrorism Act of 1997. The petitioner herein who was a brother of Mumtaz deceased submitted an application before the said learned Special Court praying that the trial in question be re-called from the Court of Session and be conducted by the Special Court. This application was, however, dismissed on 25.10.2000. Hence this petition.
3. It was submitted at the limine stage that it had been held by a Division Bench of this Court that mere fact that the victim of the murder case was a public servant was sufficient to bring such a case within the purview of the provisions of the Anti- Terrorism Act of 1997 irrespective of the fact whether the murder of such a public servant did or did not have any connection with his employment, In order to re-consider the law laid down in this judgment this petition was referred to the Honourable Chief Justice to consider the advisability of referring the issue to a Full Bench of this Court. This is how this petition is now before us.
4. As has been noticed above, the deceased person of the present case was admittedly a member of the Police Force serving in Karachi as an A.S.I, It is not denied that he belonged to Mianwali and during the days of occurrence had come home on leave, It also appears from the record that he had been killed allegedly on account of a private dispute of land.
5. Relying upon para 2(a)(ii) of the Schedule appended to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, it is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the fact that the victim of murder was a member of the Police Force was by itself sufficient to make the case triable by a Special Court under the said Act of 1997 and since the language of the law was more than clear, therefore, the same admitted-of no interpretation.
6. Mr. Muhammad Shan Gul, Advocate appearing for the State, however, relied upon Mahram Ali's case (PLD 1998 SC 1445) + (PSC 1998 (Crl.) 653) to submit that such a provision of the said Anti- Terrorism Act of 1997 could not be read in isolation and the case could fall Within the purview of the said Act only if the same had any nexus with the provisions or the purposes for which the said Act had been promulgated. He added that the murder of a public servant including that of a member of the Police Force could attract the provisions of the Act of 1997, only if his murder had any nexus with his official capacity or with the discharge of his official duties and further that if such a public servant had been done to death for a reason other than his official duties then the case would not fall within the ambit of the said Act of 1997. Reliance was also placed on an un-reported judgment of the Supreme Court in Muhammad Aslam Khan's case bearing Crl. Petition No. 147-L/1999. In the present case the reason which had led to the murder of Mumtaz deceased had no nexus with his official capacity, In this view of the matter, the case of his murder was not covered by the provisions of the Schedule appended to the Act of 1997.
7. Consequently, this petition is dismissed.