Law: Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898)

Section: 497, 498, 220

  Criminal Procedure Code (V of 1898) S. 497/498-Bail-Delay--Accused rotting in jail for about four dears--Enquiry riot yet complete ---Accused granted bail in circumstances of cage-Enquiry Magistrate directed to exercise powers under S. 220, Cr. P. C. after completion of enquiry, if sufficient material to commit accused exist arid accused could apply for bail.                                                                                                                                           ORDER This is an application by Nur, Muhammad Ali, Basher, Bakhsha, Sheru, Mahmood and Khizer, for the grant of bail. They had earlier applied for bail vide Criminal Misc, Nos. 576/B-73 arid 820/B-73, merely on the ground of delay. The learned State counsel appearing on that date; submitted that the case teas been closed and the Magistrate has promised to finish tae commitment proceedings within 15 days after recording the Defence Witnesses. I, therefore, rejected the applications by my orders dated 28-3-1973 and, 30-3-1973 respectively. 2. Malik Muhammad Qasim, the learned counsel for the petitioner has now filed the present application saying that the statement made by the learned State counsel at that time was not factually correct; that some of the prosecution witnesses still remain to be examined and in spite of passage of time some prosecution evidence has yet to be recorded. 3. The case was registered against the petitioners as far back as on 12-4-1969. The petitioners are rotting in jail eversince then. I feel that the delay is inordinate and in view of the observations of the Supreme Court in Manzoor Khan v. Kamir (1972 S C M R 207) that:- "It is not the…