Supreme Court sets eight grounds for cancelling bail

The Supreme Court has held that bail can be withdrawn if an accused misuses the concession, attempts to influence prosecution witnesses, tampers with evidence, obstructs the course of justice or is likely to abscond beyond the court's jurisdiction. The court set out eight principles on cancelling bail in a judgement authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.

The judgement holds that bail may be cancelled where the order granting it is prima facie illegal or unjust. Relief may also be revoked where the accused interferes with a fair investigation or commits another offence of a similar nature while on bail.

New facts or evidence that emerge during the investigation and indicate the accused's involvement in the offence are a further ground for cancellation.

The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Sindh High Court's decision in the case before it.

The case arises from an incident recorded at Rehmatpur police station in Larkana on March 3, 2024, after Noor Hussain died when an electricity wire snapped. Power was being supplied to shops through a special line drawn from a disposal phase, according to the case record.

The sessions court in Larkana dismissed the pre-arrest bail application of the accused, Ali Asghar Khokhar, on January 30, 2025. The Sindh High Court's Larkana Circuit Court granted him bail on October 20, 2025, citing a nine-month delay in the registration of the FIR among other grounds.

The Supreme Court observed that the nine-month delay and the accused's alleged role in the incident were matters requiring further inquiry.

It also directed that a copy of the judgement be sent to the Water and Power Development Authority chairman, so that Wapda and the relevant utility company can examine the role of individuals involved in illegal supply of electricity, power theft and private siphoning.