ISLAMABAD: In the light of the main court's observation that "not all medical conditions entitle a defendant to be released on bail unless said illness is life-threatening or without a possible cure in prison," the court for the Control of Narcotic Substances The expedited trial of a defendant who was recently released on bail for medical reasons began as he suffered from a hemorrhoid problem.
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Rawalpindi arrested Syed Paras Ali last year on December 4 when 3.6 kilograms of hashish were found in his possession. The ANF presented a challenge against the defendant in the Islamabad Narcotic Substances Control Court.
The defendant requested a post-arrest bail in court in January this year, but the request was dismissed.
In addition, the Islamabad High Court rejected its bail statement in February and the Supreme Court also refused to grant bail.
The Apex court had previously ruled "not all ailments are entitled to bail"
The defendant then filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court seeking bail for medical reasons.
His lawyer, Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmed, argued in court that his client suffered a hemorrhoid problem and that his condition deteriorated day by day. This is because in the recent past his client was shot and a bullet lodged in his abdomen, the lawyer told the court. After treating his bullet-related injury, his client had developed the problem of hemorrhoids.
But the prosecution argued in court that the defendant had received adequate treatment in a hospital that included medication for his injury and was then transferred to the jail facility.
The prosecution further alleged that a medical board had assessed the defendant's condition and believed that he was not in critical or serious condition.
After hearing from both parties, the court of division of the court ruled that, since the defendant "could not handle his routine affairs due to his gun injury in the lower abdominal region … (he suffers) a hemorrhage in the rectum, he is losing weight drastically. " , in such a case, the suggested treatment seems to be impossible in the jail facilities ”.
Therefore, on August 8, the court granted the accused bond subject to the provision of bonds in the amount of Rs200,000. The ANF challenged this verdict before the Supreme Court.
The three-member bank of the Supreme Court composed of Judges Manzoor Ahmed Malik, Sajjad Ali Shah and Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed was the author of the ruling on the case on October 17 in which they observed that in the past the defendants they had tried to secure bail and the Islamabad High Court had granted him one.
The bank reviewed its medical report and opined that the "report apparently does not suggest any serious health disorder beyond hemorrhoids, nor does it appear to require any possible treatment at the prison hospital. It does not suggest any special procedures for the respondent. [the accused] too".
However, the Supreme Court did not agree with the reasoning for the granting of the bond since its previous bond request had been dismissed by it. However, the court noted that "since the trial began [and] it is probably concluded soon and the concession has not been abused, we do not consider it convenient to withdraw the deposit ”.
Posted in Dawn, November 3, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1514609/trial-begins-of-man-released-on-bail-due-to-health-issue