ISLAMABAD: Justice Mamoon Kazi has directed the government not to arrest Najam Sethi in the case registered against him at Kohsar police station without getting appropriate orders from the Supreme Court.
In a short separate note issued on Thursday Justice Mamoon Kazi, one of the members of the bench hearing on Jugnu Mohsin’s application for interim bail of Najam Sethi, observed that this court under Article 187 of the constitution is obliged to do complete justice to a party before it. “Therefore, it will be failing in its duty if no restrictions are placed in this behalf. I, therefore, direct that if any further action in connection with the said case or the said FIR by re-arrest of the detenue is intended to be taken by the respondents, the same shall not be taken unless this court is first informed and such information is laid before the court, for an appropriate order.”
Justice Kazi further observed that the respondents (government) shall be under obligation to issue such directions to the police or any other person who may be concerned with the case as may be necessary to give effect to this order. He observed, upon statement made by the learned Attorney General today, that the detenue, Najam Sethi, has been released from custody the bail application filed on his behalf by the petitioner has been disposed of by a short order. “I would however like to add that it would be an absurdity if the detenue is re-arrested on the same charges which are now incorporated in the FIR said to have been lodged at PS Kohsar on 29-5-1999.”
Justice Kazi observed that the said FIR which was lodged only two days before this appeal was to be heard by this court, is a link in the chain of events which started with the arrest of the detenue on 8-5-1999. He further observed that the learned Attorney General has taken pains to defend this FIR which has not been filed by the government but by one MNA Inamullah Khan Niazi.
“Although, I would not like to comment on the merits of this case, which is still pending hearing, but considering the circumstances in which the detenue was arrested and detained in custody for nearly a month without registration of any case against him, complete justice cannot be done to the detenue unless some restrictions are placed on the power of the respondents to re-arrest him in connection with the said FIR.”
Earlier, the court on Wednesday while disposing of interim bail application, observed that it has heard the bail application in this case at length. “The learned Attorney General has placed before us a written statement signed by him on behalf of the State, wherein he has stated that the detenue Najam Aziz Sethi son of Abdul Aziz, who was detained in the case initially by ISI and was later taken into custody by the police, as result of orders obtained from the Special Court on 1-6-1999, in connection with the FIR registered at Kohsar police station, Islamabad, has been set free.”
The court observed that in view of the above statement, the bail application filed by the detenue has become infructuous which is disposed of accordingly. However, since the questions framed in the appeal are of public importance, the same will be heard after summer vacations.
The bench comprising Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, Justice Mamoon Kazi and Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Arif heard the application filed by wife of Najam Sethi. APP
Source: The News
Date:6/4/1999
