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Official Citation: 2023 LHC 6412
Court / Jurisdiction: Lahore High Court
Year of Decision: 2023
Decision Date: 2023-12-01
Parties: Muhammad Akbar Ali vs ASJ & others
Ruling Summary: This decision was rendered by the Lahore High Court on 2023-12-01, officially reported as 2023 LHC 6412. In this matter between Muhammad Akbar Ali and ASJ & others, the court adjudicated key questions of statutory construction, procedural regularity, and legal precedent under Pakistani law.
Core Holding: The honorable bench evaluated governing statutory provisions and judicial authorities to establish the rights of the parties, delivering the binding reasoning set out below.
Case cited as 2023LHC6412
Court Name: Lahore High Court Judge(s): Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi Title: Muhammad Akbar Ali vs ASJ & others Case No.: Criminal Misc. No.43746-M of 2023 Date of Judgment:2023-12-01 Reported As: 2023 LHC 6412 Result: Petition Allowed
Judgment Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, J: Through this petition, petitioner assails the order dated 05.05.2023, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Zafarwal, upon criminal revision instituted by respondents No.2 & 3 by virtue of which the order passed by the learned Magistrate regarding the summoning of respondents No.2 & 3 in connection with a private complaint, instituted by the present petitioner stands set aside. 2. Heard. Record perused. 3. Perusal of the summoning order dated 02.07.2021, passed by learned Magistrate Section 30, Zafarwal reveals that subject complaint carries allegation against the respondents with regard to the perpetration of offences punishable under sections 452, 506 (ii) PPC read with section 34 PPC. The cursory statements of the witnesses recorded and the documents produced during the preliminary inquiry under section 202 Cr.P.C prima facie, support the narration available in the private complaint. There remains no doubt about the proposition that for the purpose of issuance of process to the accused under section 204 Cr.P.C, evidence sufficient to establish guilt of the accused is not required, the learned Court is desired by Law only to look for the availability of sufficient ground to proceed further with the complaint that requires tentative assessment of the evidence at hand till then only and sufficiency or insufficiency of the evidence available for the issuance of process is for the Court seized with the matter to decide. The Court even is not required to state detailed reasons in support of its order. Perusal of the order, passed by the learned Revisional Court impugned through this petition reveals that the learned Additional Sessions Judge has travelled beyond his limit while considering the earlier registration of an F.I.R No. 90/2018 at the instance of the accused/respondent No.2 that was not the part of the record before the learned summoning court when the order under revision was passed. The appropriate course for the
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accused/respondents in the situation was to approach the learned trial Court by moving application under section 249-A Cr.P.C if they consider that in view of the facts with them, there was no chance of their conviction and that further proceedings in the trial would be a futile exercise. It is also relevant to mention here that the summoning order passed under section 204 Cr.P.C is not a judgment or final order as contemplated by section 369 Cr.P.C and the same can be reconsidered, revisited or recalled at any stage. Similarly, the learned revisional court while determining the propriety or legality of the subject summoning order could only look into the material or evidence available to the learned court below when the order was passed and not beyond. This Court is of the opinion that the reasons given by the learned Magistrate were sufficient to justify the issuance of process under section 204 Cr.P.C, hence, this petition is allowed and the order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge challenged by the petitioner/complainant is set aside. The learned trial Court shall proceed further with the private complaint instituted by the petitioner/complainant in accordance with law.