CJP hints at reviewing rules for pre-arrest bail in criminal cases

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on Friday hinted at reviewing the rules for grant of pre-arrest bail in criminal cases.

While hearing a case related to bail before arrest, the chief justice said the criminal law doesn’t allow pre-arrest bail. “There is a need to review the rules with regard to pre-arrest bail in criminal cases,” he added.

He recalled bail before arrest was first granted in the Hidayatullah case in 1949 so that a respectable person might not be not implicated in a case.

The top judge said the question is whether the court should protect dignity of a person or not. He said the Hidayatullah case had surfaced in 1949, adding that pleas for pre-arrest bail are filed in every case.

The chief justice, who headed a bench of the apex court, rejected an appeal seeking to revoke the bail before arrest of a suspect in a robbery case.

The suspect had obtained bail from a high court. Subsequently, the complainant approached the top court seeking cancellation of his bail.