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Criminal Miscellaneous No. 4288 of 1969, decided on 23rd January 1970.

----S. 561-A-Stay of criminal case-Facts in criminal complaint and civil suit between parties intimately connected with each other and criminal liability dependent on finding of civil suit-Criminal case, in circumstances of case, ordered to he .stayed pending decision of civil suit.

Muhammad Akbar v. The State and others P L D 1968 S C 281 rel.

Talat Farooq for Petitioner.

Nema for Respondents.

This is a petition under section 561-A, Cr. P. C. by Dr. M. A. A. A&, Medical Superintendent, Mental Hospital, Lahore, praying this Court for quashment of proceedings in re: Mst. Aisha Rahim v. M. A. A. Aziz or in the alternative for the transfer of the case from the file of Ch. Muhammad Bakhsh, Magistrate First Class. Lahore, to the file of another Magistrate of competent jurisdiction

2. The facts are these. On the 25th of June 1968, Mst. Aisha Rahim alias Aisha Begum widow of Abdur Rahim filed a complaint under section 406/420;468:471, P. P. C. in the Court of the Circle Magistrate. The trial Magistrate after examining the complaint summoned the petitioner. On the 20th of June 1969, the complainant appeared as her own witness and was cross-examined by the defence. In the cross-examination she admitted that she had filed at civil suit regarding the transfer of the bungalow which is the subject-matter of the complaint.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the criminal liability, if any, in this case, is dependent upon the result of the civil suit which is now pending in the Court of Malik Mushtaq Ahmad, Civil Judge, Lahore. He invited my attention to Muhammad Akbar v. The State and others (PLD1968 S C 281) where their Lordships of the Supreme Court delivered as follows: -

"Normally it is true, that criminal proceedings should not be postponed pending the disposal of civil litigation connected with the same subject-matter. But where it is clear that the criminal liability is dependent upon the result of the civil litigation or is -so intimately connected with it that there, is a danger of grave injustice being done in the case if there be a conflict of decision between the civil Court and the criminal Court. In such event it is equally clear that the criminal Court has not only the right to but should also stay its hands until the civil litigation is disposed, if, for, it is not desirable that when the title to the property itself is in dispute, the criminal Courts should give a finding in respect of the same question."

4. On examining the facts of this case, I am clear in my mind that the criminal liability in the instant case is depend on the finding of the civil suit, as the facts in both the criminal complaint and the civil suit are intimately connected with each other. In this view of the matter, the criminal case Mst. Aisha Rahim v. M. A. A. Aziz is stayed in the Court of the learned Magistrate pending the decision of the civil stilt between the parties. The petition is disposed of accordingly.

Order accordingly.

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