IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH, CIRCUIT COURT, LARKANA

1^st Criminal Bail No.S-748 of 2024

Khan Muhammad

V/S

The State

Applicant:                                 Through Mr. Muzafar Ali Wadhio,

Advocate.

State:                                       Through Mr. Aitbar Ali Bullo, Deputy

Prosecutor General, Sindh.

Date of Hearing:                        29.01.2025

Date of Decision:                       29.01.2025

O R D E R

Omar Sial, J.- Khan Muhammad was apprehended on 09.10.2024 with 1100 grams of charts in his possession. FIR No. 51/2024 was registered under section 9 of the Control of Narcotics Substances Act 1997 at the Guddo police station.

2.       I have heard the learned counsel for the applicant and learned deputy prosecutor general.

3.       The only ground raised by learned counsel is that 2 to 3 days prior to this case being registered, the applicant was picked up by the police, and this false case was registered when he declined to pay them a bribe.

4.       While claiming that the applicant was picked up a few days prior to the incident, it seems odd that the family made no efforts during that period to register a case or approach senior police officers with their grievances. Whether or not he was detained illegally must be established at trial.

5.       Learned counsel fleetingly argued that section 103 Cr.P.C was violated. In this regard, it suffices to say that section 25 of the CNC Act 1997 ousts the applicability of section 103 Cr.P.C, and this position has been reiterated successively by this Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

6.       Upon a tentative assessment, the applicant was arrested with a substance that was opined by the chemical analyzer as being charms. Having 1100 grams of charas carries a potential sentence of 9 to 14 years. Even if it is argued that for bail, the minimum sentence should be considered and, therefore, the punishment fails within the non-prohibitory clause of section 497 Cr. P.C. Even then, considering the principles of Tariq Bashir & 5 others v. The State PLD 1995 SC 34, I have taken the recovery of narcotics as an exceptional ground to deny the applicant bail.

7.       For the above reasons, the application has been dismissed.

JUDGE