Summary: Bail granted ---- Adnan Shafai, the petitioner, challenged the Lahore High Court’s order denying him post-arrest bail in a case registered under Sections 161, 162, 109, 409 PPC read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. The allegations against him involved extorting Rs. 19,800,000 from the complainant under the pretext of tender payments for the Rehabilitation Department of Pakistan Railways. ----Issues: 1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to post-arrest bail on the statutory ground of delay in the conclusion of the trial. ---2 . Whether the delay in the trial's conclusion was attributable to the petitioner. -----Holding/Reasoning/Outcome: The Supreme Court granted the petitioner post-arrest bail, reversing the High Court’s decision. The Court held that: ----Right to Bail Due to Delay: Under the third proviso to Section 497(1) of the Cr.P.C., an accused not facing a death penalty is entitled to bail if detained for over a year without the trial concluding, provided the delay is not caused by their actions. The petitioner had been in custody since 05.08.2022, with the trial yet to conclude, justifying his entitlement to bail. ----Delay Not Attributable to Petitioner: The petitioner’s application under Section 265-K Cr.P.C., which aimed at protecting his rights and ensuring a fair trial, did not constitute a deliberate effort to delay the trial. The mere filing of such an application does not indicate a pattern or concerted effort to delay proceedings. ----Citations/Precedents: Shakeel Shah vs. State and others (2022 SCMR 1): Elaborated on the right to bail due to trial delays and emphasized that mere adjournments requested by the accused do not automatically negate this right unless there is a visible concerted effort to delay the trial. Major (R) Muhammad Iftikhar Khan vs. The State and another (2022 SCMR 885): Distinguished from the present case as it involved numerous irrelevant applications by the accused, unlike the single application filed by the petitioner here. -----Order: The Supreme Court converted the petition into an appeal and allowed it. The impugned order of the High Court was set aside, and the petitioner was granted post-arrest bail, subject to furnishing bail bonds in the sum of Rs. 100,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court. The trial court was directed to expedite the proceedings and decide the case within 30 days, with cooperation from the petitioner and his counsel, and no unnecessary adjournments were to be granted.