1995 P Cr (PLP)

As the result of the investigation and disclosure so made by Khalid Nadeem applicant accused. Muhammad Zaman was arrested by the Investigating Agency who was remanded to judicial custody. Bail application on behalf of accused was moved in the Court of learned Special Judge, Customs and Taxation, Karachi who was pleased to reject the same vide its order, dated 24-1-1996. Hence accused applicant has approached this Court for bail. I have heard Mr. Sohail Muzaffar, learned counsel for the applicant who has contended that case against the applicant is fabricated and false one and as a consequence of an investigation carried out after arrest of Khalid Nadeem at Karachi Airport applicant was arrested from Lahore after 15 days. He has also contended that no identification parade of the accused applicant has been held to determine whether the applicant is the same person named by main accused during interrogation. That no witness named in the challan has stated that applicant was in league with the main accused. Even otherwise if the prosecution story is taken to be true for the sake of assumption it is submitted that buying ticket and helping someone to obtain visa is no crime especially when the applicant was not travelling with the main accused nor was to leave after the departure or arrival of the' main accused Khalid Nadeem. There is no iota of evidence to connect the applicant to the alleged offence. Mr. Sohail Muzaffar in support of his contentions has cited unreported judgments of this Court passed in Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed Khan v. The State Special Criminal Bail Application No.65 of 1993 and in the case of Shaukat son of Noor Muhammad v. The State Special Criminal Bail Application No-.57 of 1990. I have also heard Mr. Muhammad Roshan Essani, D.A.-G for the State who has contended that applicant accused is member of drug syndicate and Investigating Agency has collected sufficient evidence about his involvement in the commission, of the crime. Learned D.A.-G. has also contended that Muhammad Zaman Sandhu arranged Airline ticket for Khalid Nadeem, index diary was secured from Khalid Nadeem which contained name of Haji Saeed Anwar and the name of the present applicant Muhammad Zaman Sandhu. It is also contended that Muhammad Zaman Sandhu and Khalid Nadeem are partners as Managing Director and Marketing Manager respectively of the firm known as Classic Aluminium (Pvt.) Limited, 192-A, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan. That applicant applied for sponsorship visa for Germany. That final challan in the case has not been submitted by the prosecution. Mr. Roshan Essani, D.A.-G. has also filed Application Form for obtaining sponsorship visa for Germany of Khalid Nadeem accused and Muhammad Zaman Sandhu present applicant accused in which address is shown as 640 Karim Block, Iqbal Town, Lahore. This is the same which has transpired in the investigation that in this house the suitcases containing heroin powder were kept by Khalid Nadeem and Muhammad Zaman. Mr. Essani has also filed photostat copy of a letter written by Consulate-General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Karachi. The Drug and Organised Crime Liaison Officer to Hafiz Muhammad Ali Khosa, Investigating Officer, I&P Branch Customs House, Karachi. The subject-matter of which is Drug Trafficking, Investigations against Khalid Nadeem and Muhammad Zaman Sandhu. The letter contains the translation of the invitation letter from Walter H. Collin GmbH, which reads as follows:

"Entry Visa Dear Sirs, Please issue an entry visa for Mr. Muhammad Zaman Sandhu (Managing Director), Passport No.ABB913069 and Mr. Khalid Nadeem (Marketing Manager), Passport No.B055317 of Messrs Classic Aluminium Pvt. Ltd. Company Address: Classic Aluminium Pvt. Ltd. 192-A, Ferozepur Road, Lahore/Pakistan, Tel. (42) 7575484 Fax: (42) 7227849 Both gentlemen would like to visit us in order to see a demonstration of an aluminium extrusion press and to be able to clarify commercial and technical queries here. " The authorities referred by Mr. Sohail Muzaffar, the learned counsel for the applicant are quite different and distinguishable from the facts of this case. The facts 'in Special Criminal Bail Application No.65 of 1993 are that one John Chibuzo Opara, a Nigerian National was intercepted at International Departure Hall, Jinnah Terminal Complex Q.I.P., Karachi while leaving for Kano Via Cairo by Egypt Air Flight No. MS-871 was found carrying 11 green colour canvas bags and Custom Authorities secured 123 Kgs. brown colour heroin powder concealed in the cavities of 74 telex paper rolls. The allegation against Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was that while accused John Chibuzo Opara stayed in Islamabad the house in which he stayed was taken on rent through Mushtaq Ahmed Khan applicant in Special Criminal Bail No.65 of 1993 and some payment of rent for the said house was made on his behalf by Mushtaq Ahmed Khan. Admittedly according to the prosecution case Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was an Estate Agent at Islamabad and it was a part of his business to provide rented premises to his customers, irrespective of the fact whether such customers are criminals or otherwise. Whereas in this case of Muhammad Zaman Sandhu the prosecution allegation is that he is a member of drug syndicate and the prosecution has collected prima facie evidence in the shape of application forms, index diaries and letters of the Consulate-General of .the Federal Republic of Germany showing therein that Muhammad Zaman Sandhu is Managing Director of Classic Aluminium Pvt. Ltd., therefore, this unreported case is not helpful to the case of Muhammad Zaman Sandhu. The facts of the case bearing Special Criminal Bail No.57 of 1990 are that applicant Shaukat and one Allah Dino were intercepted at the Airport and from the possession of Allah Dino 1400 grams of heroin powder were secured. Allah Dino was arrested and proceeded in accordance with Customs Act. The allegation against accused Shaukat was that he was also present at the counter when the baggage of Allah Dino was searched. The facts of this case are not applicable to the facts of the present case inasmuch as Shaukat was released on bail by the learned Judge on the only allegation that he was merely present on the counter when main accused Allah Dino was apprehended, searched and 14-00 grams heroin powder were recovered from him. As referred herinabove the allegation of prosecution is that accused applicant Muhammad Zaman Sandhu was in close league with Khalid Nadeem and Haji Saeed Anwar, and prima facie established, a drug syndicate A and all of them in league with each other conspired to smuggle heroin to Rana Irfan Ahmed. The contention of Mr. Sohail Muzaffar that identification of the present applicant is not held, is not tenable. This is not the crime in which the culprit is to be identified by the victim whereas he has been implicated by co-accused Khalid Nadeem, therefore, holding of identification parade of the accused applicant is not necessary. The contention of Mr. Sohail Muzaffar that witnesses named in the challan have not stated any fact that applicant was in league with the main accused is also not convincing because the trial has not yet started and the witnesses are not examined by the Court so it is premature to say that none has implicated him in their evidence. The contention of Mr. Sohail Muzaffar is that buying a ticket and helping someone in obtaining visa, is not a crime, is also hardly to be considered because the applicant/accused has not helped anyone purely on humanitarian grounds for buying ticket or helping someone in getting visa but on the contrary the prosecution has collected evidence to show that applicant with ulterior motive and in pursuance to the illegal trade of smuggling of heroin out of Pakistan has established Classic Aluminium Pvt Ltd. as a Managing Director with Khalid Nadeem as Marketing Manager and have purchased ticket and have also filed application forms for obtaining the visa. During the investigation the Investigating Agency has come across the connections of the accused/applicant with one Rana Irfan, who is based in Germany and with Haji Saeed Anwar at Peshawar. All of these persons have been shown as accused in the interim charge-sheet submitted by the prosecution in the trial Court. Prima facie the prosecution has collected sufficient evidence documentary as well as ocular to connect the accused with the commission of the crime. The matter is still pending investigation and final charge-sheet has not been submitted by the prosecution because investigation is naturally to take some time so that all the chains of the circumstantial evidence are duly corroborated with each other by the prosecution. One of the factors for releasing an accused person on bail is whether after release from jail the prosecution evidence will be tampered or not? Keeping in view the documentary and circumstantial evidence collected by the 'prosecution prima facie it appears that the accused/applicant is one of the members of the syndicate who were active in the commission of this heinous crime and were operating from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar up to Germany. The accused applicant is challaned by the prosecution for an offence which is punishable up to 14 years' R.I. I do not find any reason for allowing the bail application which was rejected on 18-3-1995 with a short order and these are the reasons for the same. N.H.Q./M-29/K Bail refused.