Judge challenges indictment in child torture case

IHC hears but turns down plea, issues notices to respondents for May 22

ISLAMABAD: A bid by a judge to halt his trial following his indictment by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a juvenile house maid’s ‘torture’ case, fell through on Thursday after the court turned down the appeal.

While turning down the request, a division bench of the IHC, led by Justice Aamer Farooq, issued notices to the state and other respondents for Monday, May 22.

On Thursday, a review petition had been filed by Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar, who had challenged the framing of charges against them by a single-bench of the IHC on Wednesday.

A single bench of the IHC, while ruling that the application for compounding the offence with the parents of the minor were not maintainable, had indicted the judge and his wife and directed the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidence at the next hearing on May 19.

The suspects, however, had pleaded ‘not guilty’.

On Thursday, Judge Khan through his counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi and Sohail Akhtar filed a review petition against his indictment and requested the court to suspend the May 10 decision. He made the minor girl through her parents and the state as respondent in the case.

In its decision on Wednesday, the single bench had noted that the provisions of law made the court duty-bound to consider the details of the case, nature of the offence and benefit of the compounding, even the style of crime and the manner in which the offence have been committed.

The court observed that “if the court is of the view that the incident causes terror and sensation in the society or is cruel from its appearance, the court may not agree to compounding of the offence.”

“The alleged incident gives a brutal, cruel picture as well as causes terror and sensation in the society,” the judge stated in the order dismissing compromise between the parties.

The judge said that it was state which performed its duties and took care of the minor since a criminal case was registered and, therefore, a compromise struck between the suspects and the girl’s parents could not be accepted at this stage.

The court has termed the application requesting to accept the compromise between the parties as “pre-mature” at this stage and dismissed it.

Abbasi said that the above grounds were not tenable because heinous, brutal and sensation can only be seen in the light of punishment provided for the offence and, admittedly, no offence was punishable for more than three years.

“There is no question of sensation and terror,” he stated.

The court, however, did not accept the request for the time being and issued notices to other parties for Monday.

‘Sordid Incident’

In January, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had called the brutal torture meted out to the 10-year-old victim a “sordid incident” during the suo moto hearing of the case in Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court had taken a suo moto notice of the sessions judge’s alleged involvement in the matter, subsequent patch up and compromise between the parties under questionable circumstances.

Once the apex court took notice of the matter, it had voiced its serious concerns over the loopholes regarding the compromise which it noted had taken place under questionable circumstances, handing over of the child maid in a hasty manner and the suspicious role of the counsel for the legal heirs.

On January 3, the parents of the victim girl ‘forgave’ the judge and his wife “in the name of God”. Since then, the parents have forgiven the suspects twice but the IHC did not accept it.

Since the division bench has not yet suspended the May 10 decision, the single bench will take up the case on May 19 (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2017.