Inordinate delay: Progress in fraud case hinges on a statement

Five of six witnesses have recorded statements, IO has been putting it off for years

LAHORE: The hearing of a cheque-fraud case, registered with the police in 2009, is lingering for years because of the failure of the last prosecution witness – the investigation officer – to appear before the court and record his statement.

Karam Zahid had a filed a cheque fraud complaint against Wazir Ali with the Nawankot police in 2009. Ali is accused of giving Zahid a cheque for Rs150,000 which had bounced.

Five of the six prosecution witnesses had recorded their statements before a magistrate.

Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Tariq Mehmood, the investigation officer, however, has yet to record his statement, despite issuance of several notices and arrest warrants over the last two years.

Witnesses for the prosecution had been summoned for the first time on March 29, 2011.

On November 6, 2013, the court issued the first non-bailable arrest warrant for Mehmood, but he still did not show up in court.

In previous proceedings, judges presiding over the case had also attached his salary and had directed police high ups to produce him before court. None of that, however, appeared to have convinced Mehmood to record his statement.

On September 19, 2015, Magistrate Muhammad Asif issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Mehmood but he still did not turn up.

The court then issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for him and directed him to appear before it by October 7, 2015.

Talking to The Express Tribune, ASI Tariq Mehmood denied the assertion that he had not appeared in court. “I appeared several times but the court did not record my statement…there were some lawyers’ strike going and then one of the judges went on leave.”

He said he would attend the next proceedings and record his statement.

“The holdup is not my fault…I am ready to record my statement.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2015.