2005 P Cr (PLP)

Through this petition Rana Nasir Zaheer petitioner has sought post arrest bail in case F.I.R. No.329 registered at Police Station F.I.A., Passport Circle, Lahore on 8-4-2004 for offences under sections 17/22 of the Emigration Ordinance, 1979.

2. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and going through the record it has been noticed that the F.I.R. in this case had been lodged with a delay of about three years. In his application dated 4-11-2002 submitted by the complainant before the F.I.A. he had maintained that he had paid a sum of Rs.50,000 -to one Muhammad Farooq in respect of sending the complainant's son namely Shahid Mehmood to Greece for the purposes of providing' him employment thereat and subsequently the complainant had paid a sum of Rs.1,32,000 to the present petitioner in that regard. That stand taken by the complainant in the above mentioned application was, however, diametrically opposed to his stand taken earlier on in a written statement filed by him on 30-1-2002 in a suit filed by the above mentioned Muhammad Farooq. In that written statement the complainant had not named the present petitioner in any capacity whatsoever and he had categorically maintained therein that it was Muhammad Farooq who had obtained the entire sum of Rs.1,32,000 from the complainant for sending the complainant's son to Greece. It had further been mentioned by the complainant in the said written statement that as a matter of fact the complainant's son had been taken out of the country through Iran and Turkey but he had been apprehended at a place called Marco and in the A entire transaction the present petitioner had not figured anywhere at all. In this view of the matter the belated implication of the petitioner by the complainant renders the case against the petitioner one of further probe at this stage. It may not be out of place to mention here that nothing had been recovered from the petitioner's possession during the investigation of this case. The investigation has already been finalized and, thus, continued custody of the petitioner in jail is not likely to serve any beneficial purpose at this stage.

3. For what has been discussed above the case against the petitioner calls for further inquiry into his guilt within- the purview of subsection (2) of section 497, Cr.P.C. This petition is, therefore, allowed and the petitioner is admitted to bail subject to furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.50,000 (Rupees fifty thousand only) with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court. H.B.T./N-60/L Bail granted.