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Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 206 of 1974, decided on 27^th January 1976.

------S. 87 read with S. 561‑A‑Proclamation‑Quashment of proceedings‑Proceedings initiated against petitioner under Goonda Ordi nance set aside by High Court‑Proclamation issued earlier under S. 87, Cr. P. C. for non‑appearance of petitioner before Tribunal- Proceedings itself having become invalid, impugned order, held, could not be sustained and quashed.‑[Quashment of proceedings].

Azizullah K. Shaikh for Applicant.

Manzoor Hussain for the State.

Date of hearing : 27th January 1976.

This petition under section 561‑A, Cr. P. C. is directed against the issue of a proclamation under section 87, Cr. P. C. against the applicant by the District Magistrate and Tribunal, Sanghar dated 20th March 1974, under the following circumstances.

A complaint was filed against the petitioner by S. H. O., Shahdadpur on 16‑8‑1973 that applicant Mir Muhammad Wassan was desperate person who was defying the law generally and abusing and assaulting passers‑by under the influence of intoxication and he was inducing young boys for bad habits like taking of wine and homo sexuality. On this complaint the District Magistrate and Tribunal, Sanghar started proceedings under section 8(2) of Goonda Ordinance. The applicant then filed a Constitutional Petition in the High Court being Petition No. 884/73. Pending the hearing of this petition the applicant was ordered to be released on bail. On 5‑9‑1973 the applicant did not appear before the District Magistrate and Tribunal, Sanghar at the hearing of the proceedings under the Goonda Ordinance as he cuss said to be suffering from sciatic pain at Karachi. The District Magistrate, Sanghar, therefore cancelled the bail of the petitioner and ordered issue of non -bailable warrants against him. These non‑bailable warrants were not, however, served on the applicant and ultimately on 20th of March 1974, the District Magistrate and Tribunal, Sanghar issued proclamation against the applicant under section 87, Cr. P. C. requiring the applicant to appear before the D. M., Sanghar on 18th April 1974.

It has been argued by Mr. Azizullah Shaikh on behalf of the applicant that the said proclamation was illegal and in contravention of section 87, Cr. P. C. as under the said section it was imperative to allow 30 days to the person proceeded against from the date of the proclamation requiring his appearance while in the present case only 28 days had been allowed. The main contention of Mr. Azizullah Shaikh, however, is that the proceed ings which were the basis for issue of this proclamation had been challenged by the applicant in the aforesaid Constitutional Petition No. 884/73. The petition was heard by a Division Bench of this Court and on 24th October 1975, the Division Bench held that the proceedings started under the Goonda Ordinance against the applicant were illegal since there were two 'tribunals constituted, under the Ordinance for Sanghar District instead of the Tribunal as provided under the Goonda Ordinance and the existence of the two Tribunals being ultra vires the proceedings already started were vitiated. The proceedings were accordingly set aside. It has been pointed by Mr. Azizullah Shaikh that when the proceedings culminating in the issue of proclamation were set aside the proclamation also died a natural death and could no longer remain in force. When the basis of the orders was held to be illegal the subsequent orders could not remain as valid orders. Mr. Manzoor Hussain appearing on behalf of the State frankly conceded this position and stated that the impugned order in respect of proclamation under section 87, Cr. P. C. against the applicant having been based on the proceedings under the Goonda Ordinance itself became invalid after the proceedings were declared as such. Under these circumstances the impugned order regarding issue of proclamation dated 20‑3‑1974 is hereby quashed and' the application is allowed.

Application allowed.

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