Mst. BENAZIRA BIBI vs State Ss — 2025 PLD 62 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Mst. BENAZIRA BIBI VS State Ss.169, 173 & 190(2)---Penal Code (XLV of 1860), Ss. 302, 324 & 34---Investigation report---Name in Column No. 2---Constitutional petition---Complainant was aggrieved of placing name of accused person in Column No. 2 of investigation report submitted by investigating officer in case of qatl-i-amd and attempt to commit qatl-i-amd---Validity---Under the scheme of investigation, the Police Officer was empowered to release an accused upon the execution of a bond if it appeared to him that there was insufficient evidence or reasonable ground of suspicion to justify forwarding the accused to a Magistrate as per S. 169, Cr.P.C.---However, of great importance was the fact that these powers were not analogous to those of the Trial Court, which evaluated the credibility of evidence---In cases where the prosecution and the defence evidence were in conflict, the Trial Court served as the ultimate forum to weigh palpably both sets of evidence on a judicial scale, determining which to rely on and which to discard---Subsection (3) of S. 173, Cr.P.C., empowered the Magistrate to make such orders for the discharge of the bond or 'otherwise' as deemed fit after receiving the police report showing that the accused had been released on bond---Ipse dixit of the police was not binding on the Court and the Court retained the ultimate authority to determine the fate of the accused, regardless of their names being placed in Column No.2 of the challan---Placing the name of the respondent/accused in Column No.2 of the challan was within the statutory powers of the officer-in-charge of the police station and, thus, no jurisdictional error had been established---Authority now rested with the Magistrate to make such orders, after going through the record, as deemed appropriate, either discharging the bond or otherwise---Release of the accused under S. 169, Cr.P.C. did not equate to acquittal, and neither the Magistrate nor the Trial Court was bound by the ipse dixit of the police without conducting an independent assessment of the record---As challan had already been submitted in the case, therefore, Court left it to the forum seized of the matter to pass such orders under the law as deemed appropriate in the circumstances of the case---Constitutional petition was accordingly dismissed in limine.

Mst. BENAZIRA BIBI vs State Ss — 2025 PLD 62 PESHAWAR-HIGH-COURT

Case information

Judgment text as reported

Other judgments reported in 2025 PLD