Syed Abdullah vs State S — 2026 PCrLJ 911 QUETTA-HIGH-COURT-BALOCHISTAN

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Syed Abdullah VS State S. 154---Penal Code (XLV of 1860), Ss. 479, 475, 474, 422, 421, 420, 419, 504, 506 & 34---Qanun-e-Shahadat (10 of 1984), Art.128---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 199---Quashing of FIR---Constitutional jurisdiction of the High Court---Scope---Right to challenge paternity of a person---Scope---Allegations against the accused-petitioners were that they by means of fraud and by portraying themselves as the legal heirs and sons of late brother of the late father-in-law of the complainant by obtaining fake National Identity Card, local certificate and by misuse thereof, unlawfully managed to transfer the properties of said deceased, who died issueless---Complainant lodged an FIR---Held: In the present case, petitioner No.1 was born on 01.01.1974 and petitioner No.2 was born on 19.03.1992---Their father passed away on 28.11.1998 and at the time of his death, Petitioner No.1 was 24 years old and Petitioner No.2 was of 6 years, but neither the complainant nor the petitioners' father in his lifetime ever denied their relationship with the petitioners, nor raised any objection thereof---Furthermore, the petitioners had furnished ample oral and documentary evidence, affirming their status as the natural children of the deceased---On the other hand, the complainant failed to bring forth a single credible document or witness to prove that the petitioners were adopted, or that they had acquired local certificates, educational documents and national identity cards through fraud and misrepresentation---Moreover, it was not established that they had, by virtue of those documents, managed to transfer the properties of the deceased in their names---Challenge to paternity or legitimacy could be made only by the putative father himself, and that too within the limited timeframe as prescribed under Art.128 of the QSO 1984---Right to challenge paternity extinguished with father's death, and any attempt by a third party to reopen such an issue amounted to an intrusion upon settled familial relations and an abuse of process---Registration of FIR and the conduct of an investigation were actions carried out by officers of the police department, who operated in connection with the affairs of aProvince and consequently, such actions fell within the jurisdiction of the High Court under Art.199 of the Constitution and the High Court was empowered to declare any act of a Police Officer to have been done without lawful authority and to be of no legal effect---Complainant remained silent for an indefinite period and had challenged the petitioners' paternity after a considerable delay by lodging the FIR on 14.04.2024---Such delay appeared to be motivated by mala fide intent and was unsupported by any substantial evidence, henceforth, allegations of complainant were deemed to be baseless and abuse of process of law---Constitution petition was allowed by quashing the FIR, in circumstances.

Syed Abdullah vs State S — 2026 PCrLJ 911 QUETTA-HIGH-COURT-BALOCHISTAN

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