Though the absconsion by itself is not proof of guilt nor insurmountably stands in impediment to release of an offender if otherwise a case for grant of bail is made out, nonetheless,......

it is a circumstance which cannot be invariably ignored without having regard to peculiarity of circumstances in each case as there are situations that possibly entail consequences. In the present case, both the respondents opted to avoid the law; one of them is yet not arrested, thus, in the absence of any investigative analysis or conclusion, there was no occasion for the High Court to itself presumptuously extricate the respondent from the web, woven by the identity of circumstances jointly hovering upon both the accused; the impugned exercise transcends beyond the barriers of tentative assessment; it throws the entire prosecution case to the wind, an option neither contemplated by law nor falling with the remit of “further inquiry”; a case for intervention stands made out. Criminal petition is converted into appeal and allowed; and bail granted to the respondent is cancelled.

Criminal Petition No.687 of 2020

Muhammad Khan vs Iqbal Khan & another