Sheikh Zahoor-ud-Din and Muhammad Hussain, petitioners, through the instant application seeks their release on bail in case F.I.R. No,4, dated 27-7-2000 under sections 409/420/468/471, P.P.C.
Read with section 5(2), Prevention of Corruption Act, Police Station F.I.A., D.I. Khan.
2. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioners alongwith others were involved in this case after the raid conducted by the Army Monitoring Team -under the supervision of a Magistrate and other witnesses on a prior information that the Sub-Post Office District Courts, D.I. Khan officials are involved in the illegal business of issuing tokens against fake receipt books. Though petitioner No,1 Zahoor-ud-Din was not arrested with any fake token or receipt, yet the raiding party had recovered stamps and fake receipts from the house of the petitioner which though was allotted to the Post Master. Courts Post Office but was in possession of the petitioner as sublettee. Accordingly, the petitioners, were booked for offence in question vide F.I.R. No,4 of 2000 and also involved in case F.I.R. 3 of 2000. Dated 27-7-2001.
3. The petitioners applied for bail before the learned Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, N.-W.F.P. But their request was not acceded to. The petitioners also failed to get the concession of bail from this Court as well as from the august Supreme Court of Pakistan on merits of the case. The august Supreme Court of Pakistan, however, in its judgment/order directed the prosecution to complete the investigation and submit challan against the accused at the earliest. The prosecution did not comply with the directions of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan and the petitioners, therefore, filed another application for grant of bail on the ground of statutory delay as well as noncompliance of the directions of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan. The learned Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, N.-W.F.P., Peshawar turned down the request of the petitioners on this count. The petitioners then moved application before this Court on the same grounds, which application of the petitioners was disposed of on 22-10-2001 with direction to the prosecution to submit challan in the trial Court within one month positively. The trial Court was also directed to conclude trial in the case within the period of three months positively. In case of failure, it was ordered that the petitioners can straightaway approach this Court for bail.
4. This time too, the prosecution failed to comply with the directions of this Court and the petitioners, therefore, have filed the instant application for bail.
5. As stated above, the prosecution was twice directed for submission of challan against the accused/petitioners, once by the august Supreme Court of Pakistan and then by this Court by providing a specific time limit of one month for submission of challan. The instant application was filed on 27-11-2001 i,e, after one month of the order of this Court, which application came up for hearing in motion on 3-12-2001 and was admitted to regular hearing. Even today the learned Dy.
A.-G. Is unable to say that the prosecution has submitted challan against the accused/petitioners or that the same would be submitted on a certain future date. In these circumstances, the failure of the prosecution to comply with the directions of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan and of this Court when the prosecution was asked to submit challan in the case within a period of one month, is a good ground for the release of the petitioners on bail, as advised by this Court in its order dated 22-10-2001. Whereby the application of the petitioners for bail was disposed of with the direction that the petitioners may approach this Court straightaway if the prosecution failed to submit challan against them within one month. Reliance is placed on an authority reported in 1999 SCM R 2147.
6. This application is, therefore, accepted and the accused/ petitioners are admitted to bail in the sum of Rupees two lacs with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Illap/Judicial Duty Magistrate, D.I. Khan.