1977 PLP 474 (SCMR)

Muhammad Afzal Lone. Advocate Supreme Court (Standing Counsel for the Central Government) and Sh. Riaz Ahmad, Assistant Advocate‑General with him) instructed by Sh. Ijaz Ali, Advocate‑on‑Record for the State. Date of hearing : 17th February 1917. QAISER KHAN, J.‑‑Pir Humayun and Muhammad Riaz of the Karwan Trading Company, Rawalpindi, were appointed contractors for transporting wheat frown procuring centres to Rawalpindi by Railway. The wheat was to be unloaded at the Railway Station and after weighing 10% of each consignment for checking it was to be transported to the bins where it was to be reweighed under the supervision of the Food Department. At the aforesaid three stages various forma, as prescribed, had to be filled indicating the quantity of wheat, its loading and unloading at different points and shortage if any. On the basis of these particulars filled in the prescribed forms bills were to be prepared by the contractors for payment to them. On receipt of secret information that Pir Humayun Shah arid Muhammad Riaz have been preparing false and forged bills during the period 16‑8‑1974 to 6‑12‑1975 in active connivance with the officials of the Railway and Food Department and receiving huge amounts the F. I. A. registered a case under section 402/409/468/471/109, P. P. C. road with section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. Pir Humayun and Muhammad Riaz along with a number of officials of the Food Department were arrested in this connection. These arrests included petitioner Muhammad Iqbal Zaffar, Assistant Food Controller, Islamabad, who was arrested on the 7th of September 1976. Zaffar Iqbal approached the Court of Session for bail and was allowed interim bail on the 17th of September 1976 but ultimately his application for bail was dismissed on the 13th of October 1976 and he is in judicial custody since then. Zaffar Iqbal approached the High Court for his release on bail but his application was dismissed on the 22nd of December 1976. He, therefore, filed this petition for special leave to appeal against the aforesaid order of the High Court and leave was granted to him on the 4th of February 1977. After hearing Mr. Muhammad Bilal, Advocate for the appellant and Mr. Afzal Lone, Advocate for the State we have come to the conclusion that this is a fit case in which bail be allowed. According to the learned counsel for the State the investigation in the case had been completed and challan put in Court but he admitted that so far no sanction for prosecution of the Government servants load been obtained. He also admitted that there were about seventy prosecution witnesses in the case which involved a huge record. Under these circumstances the trial of the case in the Court of the Special Judge would take years to complete and we therefore consider it a fit case to allow bail to the accused who has already been an lock‑up for sufficient time. We therefore accept the appeal and order that the appellant be released on bail in the sum of Rs. 20,000 (rupees twenty thousand) with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Special Judge. Appeal accepted.