ORDER SHEET

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH, KARACHI

Criminal Bail Application No. 1325 of 2016

 

Applicant:                             Umair s/o. Muhammad Anis,

                                                through Mr. Saleem Khan,             Advocate.

 

Respondent:                          The State, through Mr. Abdullah Rajput, APG.

 

Complainant:                        Mst. Hafsa, through Ms Azra Iqbal, Advocate.

                                               

Date of hearing:                    24.01.2017

Date of order:                        24.01.2017

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O R D E R.

 

Zafar Ahmed Rajput, J:-     Having rejected his first bail application bearing No. 827 of 2016 by the learned Vth Additional Sessions Judge, Karachi Central,  applicant/accused Umair s/o. Muhammad Anis, through instant Criminal Bail Application has sought pre-arrest bail  in Crime No. 301 of 2014 registered at PS Rizvia Society, Karachi, under Section 365-B/376/506-B/34 P.P.C.  He was admitted to ad-interim bail by this Court vide order dated 09.09.2016, now he seeks confirmation of his pre-arrest bail.

 

2.         Precisely, the facts of the prosecution case are that complainant Mst. Hafsa lodged FIR on 15.11.2014 stating therein that on 13.10.2014 she left the house of her maternal aunt for going towards stitching centre situated at Bara Board Pak Colony, when at about 2.30 p.m Amir s/o. Anis, his brother Umair and their mother Zubaida, who were residing near the house of her maternal grandmother situated at Zubairi Colony, Pak Colony forcibly   made her seated in the car and accused Amir and Umair pointing gun at her directed her to keep quite otherwise she would be killed. Thereafter, accused persons gave her water to drink due to which she became unconscious and they kept her at unknown place for two days, where Amir forcibly committed Zina with her. The accused persons also obtained her signatures on some papers and after two days on 15.10.2014 at 10.00 p.m. accused Amir with his two friends left her at the same place and issued threats that if she discloses the incident to anyone they would upload her video on internet. Thereafter, the complainant reached her home in a rickshaw and narrated the incident to her mother.  

 

3.         The learned counsel for the applicant/accused has mainly contended that the applicant is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case by the police at the behest of the complainant party; that the complainant has contracted marriage with the brother of present applicant namely Amir (co-accused) after swearing affidavit of freewill on 30.10.2014, therefore, question of abduction and committing Zina-bil-Jabr does to arise; that the instant FIR has been lodged with inordinate delay of more than one month but no plausible explanation has been given; that the complainant has also filed Family Suit No. 927 of 2015 for jectitation of marriage before learned VIth Family Judge, Karachi West but the learned Family Court returned the plaint for its presentation before the Court having jurisdiction and; thereafter, she did not present the plaint before any Court having jurisdiction; that the co- accused Amir  has been granted interim pre-arrest bail in Criminal Bail Application No. 62/2015, which has been confirmed by this Court vide order dated 05.05.2015 and the case of present applicant is on better footing than the co-accused; as such, the applicant is liable to be released on bail.

 

4.         On the other hand, learned counsel for the complainant as well as learned APG concede the fact that main accused Amir has been admitted to interim pre-arrest bail, which has been confirmed by this Court and the case of present applicant is on better footing than the main accused.

 

5.         I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.

 

6.         It is an admitted position that FIR in the instant case has been lodged with an inordinate delay of more than one month, for which no plausible explanation has been given by the complainant. There is no denial of the fact that the complainant has also filed Family Suit No. 927/2015 for jectitation of marriage against the main accused; however, the plaint was returned by the learned VIIth Family Judge, Karachi West to present the same before the Court having jurisdiction, but the plaint has not been presented before any Court. It is also an admitted position that main accused Amir against whom complainant has leveled allegation of committing Zina-bil-Jabr has already been granted pre-arrest bail by this Court and the case of present applicant is on better footing than the main accused; hence the applicant is also entitled for the bail.

 

7.         For what has been discussed, the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the applicant/accused, vide order dated 09.09.2016 is hereby confirmed on same terms and conditions.

 

JUDGE

Athar Zai