Find a Lawyer

Criminal Miscellaneous No. 848/B of 1979, decided on 28th March, 1979,

---S. 498-Bail of petitioner accused of offence under S. 7 Offence of Qazf (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance (VIII of 1979), pressed on grounds : (f) petitioner having absolutely no connec tion with article in newspaper and being falsely implicated; (ii) one of ingredients of qazf liable to hadd being that it should be committed intentionally and without ambiguity but alleged qazf of zina as contained in F. I. R. and article in question ambiguous, hence S. 7 not attracted-Name of petitioner, however, not finding mention in F. I. R. and question of publication of article in newspaper yet to be determined by trial Court-.Interim bail confirmed, in circum stances.-[Hadd].

Muzaffar Qadir for Petitioner.

Asif Jan, A. A.-G. for the State.

Khalid Mahmud, Ch. Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Ikram for the Complainant.

Rana Muhammad Ajmal Khan petitioner who along with others is involved in a case under section 7 of the Offence of Qazaf (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance, 1979, has moved this petition for-pre-arrest bail. The case was registered at the instance of Ch. Ishan-ul-Haq. The allegation against the petitioner is that through his co-accused he got published an article in the daily 'Afaq' dated 22-2-1979 containing inter alia an imputation of zina against the complainant with intention to harm his reputation. In the F. I. R. and the article appearing in the said News paper the imputation in question against the petitioner is couched in the following words :--

2. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner had absolutely no connection with the article appearing in the newspaper and he was falsely implicated. He further submitted that according to section 5 of the. Ordinance one of .the ingredients of qazf liable to hadd is that it should be committed intentionally and without ambiguity but the alleged 'qazf of zina' as contained in the F. I. R. and the article in question is ambiguous, therefore, section 7 of the Ordinance which provides punishment for 'qazf liable to hadd' is not attracted in this case. The learned A. A.-G. and the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the F. I. R. clearly shows that the article was got published by the petitioner. They further submitted that the, imputation contained in the article in question amounts to qazf of zina, therefore, prima facie section 7 of the Ordinance is attracted and the petitioner is not entitled to the extraordinary concession of pre arrest bail.

3. The question whether section 7 of the Ordinance is attracted to the facts of the case or not is a matter to be determined by the trial Court on the basis of evidence to be adduced at the trial. After going through the relevant material, I, however, find that the name of the petitioner does not find mention in any context in the article published in the daily 'Afaq''. The article rather carries the name of the special correspondent Sh. Abdul Rashid as the author thereof. In the circumstances, the question whether this article was got published by Sh. Abdul Rashid on his own initiative o at the instance of some one else would require a serious consideration at it proper stage. I am, therefore, of the view that it is a case for further enquiry. The interim bail allowed to the petitioner is, therefore, confirmed.

Bail allowed.

Find a Lawyer Near You

Dealing with a matter like this? Connect with a verified advocate in your city — free on SJP Lawyers Directory.