1998 PLP 1705 (PCRLJ)

Qurban Ali H. Chohan for Applicant. Muhammad Iqbal Raad, Addl. A.‑G. (Sindh) for ,the State. The only ground urged for directly moving this Court is as under:‑‑ "That after receiving the F.I.R., accused/applicant tried to approach the Honourable Sessions Court, Mirpurkhas but to his bad luck due to influence of the complainant party, the main entrance gate of the Court premises were heavily guarded by Police for the sole purpose of arresting and disgracing him so in order to avoid arrest, humiliation and mental and physical torture at the hands of Police. He is directly appearing before this Honourable Court for a prayer of at least getting protective bail in order to enabling him to approach the Honourable Sessions Court, Mirpurkhas." These are standard pleas in cases coming up for protective bails. The cushion of a protective bail order cannot be extended if, armed with a protection provided by a superior Court, the only object is to fiddle with the jurisdiction of a competent Court. Today itself in Criminal Bail Application No. 18 of 1998 I had expressed an opinion regarding grants of protective bails and with that opinion I have no reason to deviate in this case. Such order in extenso is reproduced hereunder:‑‑ "It is not disputed that no specific reason has been given in this Criminal Bail Application for applying for protective bail in this Court. It seems to me that if such facility comes to be used indiscriminately, it is likely to occasion forgeable criticism and, therefore, may have to be discontinued. For such reason I see no justification for entertaining the present criminal bail application, which is dismissed." In the circumstances, I have been reminded by the learned counsel for the applicant of a decision of this Court, rendered by Tufail Ali Abdur Rehman, C.J, in Abdul Hamid Khan Jatoi v. The State 1973 PCr.LJ 1032, where the learned Chief Justice was pleased to observe as under:‑‑ "

2. This application was made as an urgent motion yesterday and it was claimed before me that although the appellant was by no means desirous of evading surrender to this Court the Police had made it impossible for him to do so and that, therefore, I should either dispense with his attendance yesterday or authorise an officer of this Court to go to his residence and obtain an affidavit. I declined to follow the later course but for reasons which will presently appear, I granted interim bail up to this morning and directed that the appellant should furnish security yesterday and his own personal bond this morning in Court. Security was furnished and the applicant is present before me today.

8. In the present case, however, I deeply regret to say that there is substance in this complaint of the petitioner. Every entrance of this Court was guarded by the Police yesterday without my having made any request to the Government for any protection. I cannot, therefore, but think it reasonable to assume that the petitioner might well have thought that this was intended to prevent his entrance; whether in fact it was so intended or not I do not mean to decide . ... " In consonance with the reproduced dicta the applicant may apply for bail before arrest before the relevant Sessions Judge but if the Court premises is found to be so guarded that the applicant cannot enter the Court precincts without a visible prospect of the applicant being apprehended, the learned Sessions Judge, at the time of hearing, may be informed of the applicant's predicament. Such being done, the Sessions Judge would deal with the situation in an appropriate lawful manner and, inter alia, possibly depute his own guard to escort the applicant from outside the Court premises into it so that adequate hearing, in accordance with law, of the bail application can take place. This, let me add, need not go to the extent of the applicant being brought from his house to the Court because a somewhat similar request, even in a case fraught with political implication, was not allowed (and with respect correctly) by the then Chief Justice in the precedent case Subject to the foregoing observations this criminal bail application is disposed of. H.B.T./A‑218/K Order accordingly.