2011 SCMR 1392 (PLP)

ASIF SAEED KHAN KHOSA, J.

Through this petition Saeed Khan has sought leave to appeal against the order dated 27-5-2011 passed by a learned Judge-in-Chamber of the Lahore High Court, Lahore in Criminal Miscellaneous No.5615-B of 2011 whereby pre-arrest bail was refused to the petitioner in case F.I.R. No. 236 registered at Police Station Old Anarkali, Lahore on 12-4-2011 in respect of an offence under section 324, P.F.C. read with section 34, P.P.C.

2. We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Additional Prosecutor-General, Punjab appearing for the State and the learned counsel for the complainant and have gone through the record of this case with their assistance.

3. Admittedly the petitioner had not been nominated in the F.I.R. in any capacity whatsoever. The occurrence in this case had taken place on 10-4-2011 and the F.I.R. had been lodged in that regard on 12-4-2011. It had been mentioned by the complainant in the F.I.R. that two unknown persons had committed the alleged offence and that they had collectively fired three shots hitting the victim namely Ajmal Khan on his right lower leg. We have curiously noticed that on 12-4-2011 the complainant had also sot recorded his supplementary statement wherein he had nominated the present petitioner and another as the culprits who had fired at and injured the victim and in that supplementary statement it had categorically been stated by the complainant that till then he had not reported the incident to the police. We have remained unable to understand as to how that statement of the complainant could be termed as a supplementary statement if by then the complainant had not even lodged an F.I.R. regarding the incident in issue.

4. It has also been found by us to be intriguing that in the above mentioned supplementary statement the complainant had maintained that he and the petitioner had remained partners in business for some time in the past and if that were so then the complainant's failure to identify and nominate the petitioner in the F.I.R. as one of the culprits who had fired at and injured the complainant's brother namely Ajmal Khan has been found by us to be prima facie irreconcilable. Such belated implication of the petitioner by the complainant in the criminal case in hand and the circumstances in which such implication had come about have tentatively been found by us to be smacking of mala fide on the part of the complainant.

5. The record also highlights a glaring contradiction between the F.I.R./supplementary statement and the Medico-legal Certificate issued in respect of the injured victim inasmuch as according to the F.I.R./ supplementary statement the alleged victim had receive, three firearm injuries on his right lower leg at the hands of the culprits but according to the Medico-legal Certificate issued in respect of the alleged victim there was only one fireshot received by him on his right lower leg. These factors have been found by us to be sufficient to put us to caution regarding veracity of the allegations levelled by the complainant party against the petitioner.

6. For what has been discussed above this petition is converted into an appeal and the same is allowed and, resultantly, the petitioner is admitted to pre-arrest 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 within a period of two weeks from today. M.H./S-31/SC Bail allowed.