No provision of pre-arrest bail in law: SC

Says such type of bail was introduced by a former chief justice to protect innocents

ISLAMABAD:

The apex court has noted that there is no provision of a pre-arrest bail in the law and a former Supreme Court judge had introduced this principle in order to protect innocent people from getting arrested on false charges.

 “There is no concept of pre-arrest bail. This type of bail hinders the implementation of law,” said Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed as part of a three-judge bench that on Wednesday heard the pre-arrest bail request of two men accused of stealing gas for commercial purposes through an illegal connection.

 “The principle of pre-arrest bail was introduced by Justice Cornelius to protect innocent people from getting arrested,” he added. Chief Justice Alvin Robert Cornelius – a jurist and legal philosopher – served as the fourth chief justice of Pakistan from 1960 until 1968.

 Justice Ahmed said everyone talks about the legal rights and privileges of an accused. However, the legal rights of the state and complainant are equal to the rights of the accused. The court of law must also take into account the legal rights of both parties, he added.

 Earlier, the prosecution argued that the accused – Riaz and Salman Haroon – stole gas for their ice factory in Lahore. They had disconnected the official gas connection in 2015 and had been using gas procured through an illegal connection for the last 5 years.

 The bench asked if this theft of gas was possible without the collusion of some officials from the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL). Those who try to steal gas from the mainline may put the life of an entire neighborhood in danger, it added.

 The bench later annulled the bails of the accused, who were later arrested.