• Scrutiny of final charge sheet by PG gives clean chit to MNA Karim, MPA Awais
• SHC grants three-day protective bail to lawmakers, two other suspects

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday asked Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Jam Karim Bijjar and other suspects in Nazim Jokhio murder case to surrender before an antiterrorism court within three days after the SHC was informed that the final investigation report of the case had been filed before an ATC.

The high court granted three-day protective bail to the MNA and two other suspects enabling them to approach the trial court. The final charge sheet landed in ATC giving a clean chit to the MNA, his brother MPA Jam Awais, and others after a marathon “scrutiny” conducted by the office of the Sindh prosecutor general.

The PPP lawmaker and two other suspects had obtained interim pre-arrest bail from SHC last month since the forum of trial court was not available at that time as the prosecution and police took more than two months to submit final charge sheet of the case.

When a single-judge bench headed by Justice Omar Sial took up the matter for hearing on Thursday, investigating officer Inspector Siraj Lashari confirmed that the charge sheet of the case had been filed before the administrative judge of ATCs, Karachi.

The bench in its order observed that these bail applications were entertained by SHC directly because when the applicants had approached this court there was no charge sheet or investigation report of Section 173 CrPC in field in any court at the time and hence, the applicants were given legal shelter till such time the charge sheet/challan was filed before the trial court.

“This has now been done as has been confirmed by the IO, it would therefore be appropriate now if these applications are converted into applications seeking protective bail and all the applicants in the first instance surrender before the learned ATC court,” it added.

The order further noted that in the event these bail before arrest applications were entertained by the SHC it would effectively eliminate one forum for either the applicants or complainant to approach a higher forum if they were aggrieved by the order of trial court.

“My second reason to so hold is that it is not a preferred route to interfere with the first instance jurisdiction of the learned trial courts who should be given full opportunity to deal with issues independently and autonomously, it concluded.

The counsel for the MNA submitted that his client had not been named as accused in the final investigation report.

Last week, the National Commission for Human Rights had also moved the SHC to become a party/intervener in the case and contended that there was no chance of a fair trial if the case was left at the mercy of state offices since the alleged connivance of state officials with the accused party was apparent by the conduct of the prosecutor general Sindh for subduing the final charge of the case for around two months; the home department acting under the impetus of PG made utmost attempts to influence the investigation and transfer the same as well as extending official protocol to the MNA.

The 27-year-old victim, Nazim Jokhio, was found tortured to death at PPP MPA Jam Awais farmhouse in Malir on Nov 3 last year and the MPA along with his brother MNA Jam Karim Bijjar and others were booked for allegedly torturing Nazim to death as he had resisted houbara bustard hunting and filmed the lawmakers’ Arab guests while hunting in the deceased’s village.

Police had filed the interim charge sheet in December naming over 20 as accused persons including both PPP lawmakers, but did not assign their role in the commissioning of the alleged offence.

The final charge sheet was filed before a magistrate in the last week of January in which the detained MPA and four others were named as accused and the MNA and three others were shown as absconding accused in the case. However, on Feb 8, the judicial magistrate had returned the final charge sheet of the case along with other papers of the case to the IO with direction to file the same before the administrative judge of ATCs as he had observed that the accused had no other intention or motivation behind their acts but to create insecurity and fear in the public or group of public by such act.

Therefore, the final charge sheet remained at the office of the PG on the pretext of detailed scrutiny for more than two months and subsequently, both the PPP lawmakers along with their eight servants have not been named as accused persons and only three guards were charge sheeted.

Meanwhile, the administrative judge of the antiterrorism courts on Thursday transferred the case to the ATC-XV for its disposal according to the law, our staff reporter Naeem Sahoutara adds.

A day ago, the investigating officer of the case Inspector Siraj Lashari had filed the final challan with the ATCs administrative judge.

Judicial sources confirmed to the Dawn that the case file, including police papers and final challan, has been received at the ATC-XV.

MNA Jam Karim is currently on bail, while Jam Awais is in judicial custody.

In the challan, IO Inspector Siraj Lashari had recommended excluding names of the MNA, MPA and their 10 servants and guards from the case for “lack of evidence”.

The other suspects included Muhammad Saleem, Muhammad Doda Khan, Muhammad Soomar, Abdul Razzaq and Jamal Ahmed alias Wahid (who all are on bail); Muhammad Meraj and Muhammad Khan (who are in judicial custody) and Muhammad Ishaq, Ahmed Khan, Atta Muhammad and Zahid Ali.

However, the IO had chargesheeted two detained guards of the lawmakers – Haider Ali and Meer Ali – for allegedly committing premeditated murder of Jokhio, concealing the evidence of the offence and terrorism.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2022