| Citation(s) |
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| 2025 SLG 3530 2025 SLD 3530 = 2025 SHC 2027 |
Criminal Bail Application No. S-189 & S-190 of 2025
KHALID HUSSAIN SHAHANI, J.
Mst. Shabnam, Through Mr. Bakhtiar Ahmed Advocate
Applicant: 1. Syed Asadullah Ali Shah s/o Khair Ali Shah 2. Syed Fayaz Shah s/o Ghulam Mehdi Shah 3. Bibi Hina Shah d/o Fayaz Hussain Shah Through M/s Qurban Ali Malano and Ali Murtaza Shah, Advocates The State: Through Mr. Muhammad Raza Katohar, learned DPG
Law: Pakistan Penal Code (PPC),1860
Section: 302,370,374,328-A,34,506,171,311,376(3),377
Law: Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997
Section: 23-A
Law: Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)
Section: 173,497(2)
Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973
Section: 9, 10-A
Summary
The applicants, Syed Asadullah Ali Shah, Syed Fayaz Shah, and Bibi Hina Shah, sought post-arrest bail in a murder case (Crime No. 126/2023) registered at P.S. Ranipur. The case involves allegations of murder and abuse of a minor domestic helper, Fatima alias Saya, aged 9. The prosecution charged them under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017.
The complainant alleged physical abuse leading to the child's death. However, the post-mortem report stated the cause of death as "cardiac arrest secondary to trauma" without evidence of sexual assault. The FIR was lodged after a delay and some prosecution witnesses later retracted their statements, indicating the death was natural. The complainant and her husband also filed No-Objection Affidavits for bail.
The court, after examining the evidence and submissions, held that the case is based on circumstantial evidence with serious doubts, qualifying for the “further inquiry†category under Section 497(2), Cr.P.C. The court noted that continued detention would amount to pre-trial punishment violating constitutional rights to liberty and fair trial. Accordingly, the applicants were granted post-arrest bail with specific conditions.