Juvenile accused of blasphemy granted bail

LHC grants bail to a juvenile accused of burning volumes of the Holy Quran.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court granted bail to a juvenile accused of blasphemy under the Juvenile Justice System against bail bonds worth Rs100,000.

Justice Sheikh Ahmed Farooq signed the release orders after the accused was produced in court along with his birth certificate to ascertain his age.

Neither the complainant nor his counsel was present to contest the bail. The boy had been accused by Asim, a TV reporter. Asim had lodged an FIR at the Factory Area police station under Sections 295-A, 295-B and 508 of Pakistan Penal Code.

In the FIR, the complainant accused the boy of burying volumes of Holy Quran.

Counsel for the accused submitted that the complainant, Asim, used to tease the boy’s sisters. According to the accused he had been accused by Asim after he had warned him not to tease his sisters.

The accused, appearing before the court, submitted that he had eight sisters and was the sole breadwinner of his family.

An additional district and sessions judge had earlier dismissed his bail application, following which he had moved the Lahore High Court. The accused had been in jail since August 5, 2010.

Asim told The Express Tribune that he would move the court for cancellation of the bail of the accused. Asim added that he had not been informed about the bail hearing by the court or the investigation officer (IO).

Asim denied that he used to tease the boy’s sisters.

When asked why he had not informed the complainant about the bail hearing, the IO, Abdul Sattar, said that the complainant appeared to have switched off his mobile phone whenever he[the IO] tried to call him.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2010.