ORDER SHEET

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH BENCH AT SUKKUR.

Cr.B. A. No: 179 of 2009.

1. For orders on M.A. No.706 /09 (U.A)

2. For order on MA No.707/09 (Ex.A)

3. For hearing.

Date of hearing:

Mr. Shewak Ram adv. For applicant.

Mr. Sardar Shah APG.

*************

After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I had, by means of a short order dated 26.10.2009, granted bail in terms as stated in the short order. Following are the detailed reasons for my having done so.

The present bail application arises out of Crime No. 83/2008 registered with PS ‘A’ Section Sukkur on 30.06.08. The complainant Muhammad Yahya stated in the FIR lodged by him that he and Muhammad Asif, both employees of M/s Wahab Autos (owned by one Abdul Zar and one Furqan) were going on a motorcycle in the evening of 30.06.08 to deposit Rs. 6,68,000 at a branch of KASB Bank. The complainant was driving the motor cycle and Muhammad Asif was sitting behind him holding the money in a bag. As they crossed an intersection known as ‘Mohammadi Chowk’ and were passing in front of a shop doing business under the name and style of ‘Mohammadi Tractor’, they were waylaid by three unidentified men on a motorcycle. The complainant was forced to stop his motorcycle by the three men. All the men had their faces uncovered. The two men riding behind were armed with pistols. They tried to snatch the money from Muhammad Asif who resisted, whereupon they opened fire on him. Asif was hit in the chest and fell down. At the same time, two persons from the aforesaid shop Mohammadi Tractor, being Dilawar Khan and Abdul Wahab, who witnessed the entire incident came running up to the spot. The robbers took the money and fled. The complainant and the witnesses took Muhammad Asif to the hospital, but he expired on the way. A case under sections 302, 392, 34 PPC and other relevant provisions was duly registered at the Police Station.

It appears that after the incident, on or about 16.08.2008, the witness Abdul Wahab, while working at his shop ‘Mohammadi Tractor’, suddenly saw the three men who had committed the robbery passing by. He at once informed a nearby police party, who chased the three men and arrested them. They were subsequently identified as Abid Ali, Azmat and Dur Muhammad.

Insofar as the present applicant is concerned, he, along with two other persons, namely Ashiq and Nur Muhammad, were named by the co-accused as being part of a conspiracy to rob the money in the incident referred to above. It appears that the applicant was arrested by the police on or about 26.08.2008, although there is some dispute regarding this date, with the applicant alleging that he was arrested some days prior to that date. In any event, an identification parade was held on 27.08.2009, when the eye witnesses Abdul Wahab and Dilawar Khan identified the present applicant as one of the persons who had committed the robbery. Furthermore, it appears that the complainant also disclosed the name of the present applicant as having been involved in the incident on the basis of certain (unspecified) “knowledge” obtained by him from (undisclosed) “reliable sources”. The above mentioned Abdul Zar and Furqan also implicated the present application in their additional statements under section 161 CrPC, again on the basis of unspecified information.

Of the persons accused in the incident, Azmat and Dur Muhammad were granted bail by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sukkur on 01.11.2008, whereas Nur Muhammad was granted bail by this Court on 23.07.2009. However, the present applicant and Abid Ali were denied bail by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sukkur on 15.12.2008.

In my view, the case of the present applicant is clearly one that requires further inquiry. On the basis of the material at present available against the applicant, it cannot be said that reasonable grounds exist for believing that he is guilty of the offences in respect of Crime No. 83/2008. The men who robbed the complainant and the deceased Muhammad Asif, and murdered the latter, were unknown to the latter and were not identified in the FIR. The present applicant was implicated in the matter by the co-accused and on the basis of statements subsequently made by the complainant and the owners of the M/s Wahab Auto. The three men who were arrested on being subsequently pointed out by the eye witness Abdul Wahab did not include the present applicant. There was thus a contradiction between the identification by Abdul Wahab of the men so arrested (being allegedly the men who had robbed the complainant and the deceased) and the identification by the same Abdul Wahab of the present applicant at the identification parade. The other person alleged to have formed part of the conspiracy, namely Noor Muhammad has been released on bail. Thus, at the present time, the grounds available are not such as would inspire sufficient confidence to conclude reasonably that the present applicant is guilty of the offences in respect of Crime No. 83/2008. In my view, he ought to be admitted to bail, and for the foregoing reasons, I had done so by means of my short order of 26.10.2009.

JUDGE

Ihsan.