ORDER SHEET

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH, CIRCUIT COURT, LARKANA

1^st Crl. Bail Application No.S-346    of   2024

Date                           Order with signature of Hon’ble Judge

1. For orders on office objection.

2. For  hearing of Bail Application.

Mr. Habibullah G. Ghouri, advocate for the applicant.

Mr. Ali Anwar Kandhro, Additional Prosecutor General.

Mr. Rafique Ahmed K. Abro, advocate for the complainant.  

Date of Hearing      : 03.02.2025.

Date of decision      : 17.02.2025.

O R D E R

OMAR SIAL, J.: Ghulam Akbar Ujjan has sought post-arrest bail in FIR bearing No. 63/2024 registered under sections 302, 34 P.P.C, at the Kambar City police station.

2.         On 19.03.2024, the complainant, Yasir Ali, recorded that his brother Irfan Ali was wedded to Safia Ujan d/o Allah Warayo Gopang. The couple had two sons and two daughters out of wedlock. Safia had a rift with Irfan Ali and separated from him. Irfan persistently tried to patch up with her and take her back home, but to no avail. Safia’s family wanted to have one of their daughters married, but Irfan resisted the proposal. Ahsan Ali Gopang, who was a relative of Allah Warayo, was annoyed with Irfan Ali for not giving his permission, and he had the applicant fired at Irfan Ali, for which F.I.R. No. 2 of 2023 was registered under section 324 and 34 P.P.C. at the Kambar City police station on 05.01.2023. On 17.03.2024, Ali Akbar approached Irfan Ali for mediation. As part of mediation talks, complainant Yasir Ali, his brother Abdul Rasool, and his mother, Husna, went to Irfan Ali’s house. Ali Akbar also came to Irfan’s place. However, no settlement could be reached. Therefore, Irfan adjourned the talks to the next morning. All, Ali Akbar included, stayed the night at Irfan Ali’s house. On the morning of 18.03.2024, a scream was heard, which caused all the said family members to run in the direction of the sound of the scream. They saw that Ali Akbar, along with three unidentified people, were making an escape. They then witnessed Irfan Ali hanging by the fan. They took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The present FIR has been lodged for this incident.  

3.         I have been informed that the person referred to as Ali Akbar in the F.I.R. is the applicant, Ghulam Akbar.I have heard the learned counsel for the applicant, the complainant, and the Additional Prosecutor General.My findings and observations are as follows.

4.         Firstly, the sequence of events leading up to the death of Irfan Ali does not make for a cogent narration. The complainant alleges to have been made aware of Irfan’s death on account of a scream that startled them all. Though they claim to run in its direction immediately, Ali Akbar, along with three other men, manages to escape in that brief interlude. The accused also seem to have managed to hang Irfan Ali easily. As per the medical report, upon a tentative assessment of the ligature mark on the neck and the broken hyoid bone, the cause of death may very likely behangingrather than strangulation. No marks on the body were found that would reflect a struggle. How these four unarmed assailants managed to force Irfan Ali, a full-grown adult, to hang himself without much commotion or any resistance is strange. The learned Additional Prosecutor General asked the investigating officer to clarify, to which he replied that Irfan Ali may have been drugged and, hence, not in a position to offer resistance. That could be the case, but there is nothing in the post-mortem report to suggest that Irfan Ali had been drugged. The prosecution admitted that no intoxicating substance or traces of it were recovered from the incident scene. It was also acknowledged that an unconscious Irfan Ali was first strangulated and then hanged to show it as a suicide, then his screaming before death is an anomaly.

5.         After asking her, the learned counsel for the complainant, Husna, informed me that there are 10 other houses close to Irfan Ali’s, and all have a single gate entrance/exit. However, it is strange to me that despite it being an admittedly populated ten houses and a populated neighborhood, no effort was made to apprehend an unarmed Ali Akbar nor the other alleged accused by the complainant party. Nor has anyone else come forward as a witness to testify in favor of the prosecution’s case. The non-appearance of witnesses in cases of honor killing is, unfortunately, a norm, but at this preliminary stage, I find it somewhat unnatural that in the circumstances of the present case, nobody else from at least the ten houses has recorded a statement.

6.         Further, Husna claimed that Ali Akbar is a proclaimed offender. If that is correct and going by the bad blood between Irfan Ali and Ali Akbar, I find it strange that not only was he invited for mediation talks with Irfan Ali but also hosted for a night at Irfan’s place. The three other assailants who seemed to have assisted Ali Akbar in executing Irfan Ali’s murder were neither a part of the mediation talks nor were they staying the night at Irfan’s. How they managed to access the house's interior without being seen by anybody also requires further inquiry. It is also unclear why the complainant party did not intercept or even attempt to apprehend them upon witnessing them exiting.

7.         As mentioned above, on the face of it, the sequence of events given by the complainant seems prima facie unnatural to me. Her narration of events requires much elaboration and clarification, which will undoubtedly come at trial. The ambiguity is such that, to a reasonable mind, this would be a case of further inquiry. Counsel for the complainant has stressed that the applicant was a proclaimed offender and thus was not entitled to bail. Learned counsel had not been appropriately instructed in this regard. The learned 1st Additional Sessions, Kamber confirmed vide report dated 07.02.2025 that the applicant had not been declared a proclaimed offender.

8.         I have been informed that the applicant is Allah Waryo's son-in-law and Safiya's brother-in-law. Allah Waryo and his wife Zarina, both of advanced ages, stayed in Karachi with the applicant. Further, Safia, on account of her marital conflict, also lived in the applicant’s home with her parents. It has been argued that the motive for targeting Ali Akbar was to desist him from housing Safia and her parents at his place.

9.         Given the above, I believe the case against the applicant requires further inquiry. He is, therefore, admitted to post-arrest bail subject to furnishing two solvent sureties of Rs. 500,000 each and P.R. Bonds for the same amount to the trial court's satisfaction. As a further condition of bail, the applicant is restrained from directly or indirectly contacting the victim's family without their written consent till the conclusion of the trial. Upon evidence of a breach of this condition provided by the complainant, the learned trial court shall be fully empowered to cancel the concession of bail being granted herein.

                                                                                                            JUDGE