'Accusation's gravity alone can't bar bail relief'

LHC observes material collected during investigation has to be assessed

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has held that the gravity of an accusation alone cannot be a ground for denying relief to an accused, observing that a finding of insufficient evidence to suggest the commission of a sexual offence cannot be selectively disregarded at the bail stage because it favours the accused.

The court declared that the entire material collected during the investigation had to be tentatively assessed to determine whether reasonable grounds existed to believe the accused was guilty or whether the case required further inquiry.

However, LHC Justice Ghulam Sarwar Nihung granted post-arrest bail to a man accused in a case of raping a minor, holding that the prosecution's medical and forensic record had raised questions requiring further inquiry into his alleged guilt.

The court allowed Aon Abbas's bail petition primarily because of the medical opinion issued after consideration of both the physical examination and forensic evidence..

It held that such material could not be selectively ignored at the bail stage merely because it favoured the accused.

Justice Nihung observed that although the allegations were grave and the accused had been nominated in the FIR, the seriousness of an accusation alone was not enough to deny bail.

The court observed that the entire material collected during the investigation had to be tentatively assessed to determine whether reasonable grounds existed to believe that the accused was guilty or whether the case required further inquiry.

It observed that the final medical opinion formed part of the prosecution's own record and could not be disregarded selectively. It stressed that at the bail stage, the prosecution could not rely on portions of its investigation supporting its case while asking the court to ignore material that appeared favourable to the accused.

The petitioner was arrested in connection with an FIR registered at Gogera police station in Okara under Sections 376 and 376(iii) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the prosecution, the incident had occurred on the night of August 15, 2024, when the petitioner, allegedly armed with a pistol and accompanied by an unidentified co-accused, had raped the complainant's daughter aged about 13 years.