Pleas dismissed in mosque video case
A judicial magistrate has dismissed applications for acquittal of actors Bilal Saeed and Saba Qamar from a case registered against them over allegedly shooting a song in Wazir Khan Mosque.
The magistrate fixed March 16 for framing charges against the suspects.
Judicial Magistrate Sarawat Batool had reserved the decision after hearing arguments about the acquittal applications.
The counsel for the applicants had implored the court that Auqaf Department’s Regional Manager Ikhlaq Ahmed had stated in his inquiry report that no immoral activity had been done in the mosque.
A law officer had prayed the court to dismiss the applications.
Earlier, an additional district & sessions judge had confirmed pre-arrest bails of the applicants.
Read: Bilal Saeed, Saba Qamar’s acquittal pleas rejected in mosque sanctity case
The bail petitioners' counsel had submitted that the song for which the video shooting took place was officially released on August 12, 2020, and it contained no footage of the mosque as alleged in the FIR.
The complainant’s counsel had opposed the bail, contending that the suspects had tarnished the image of the mosque.
The suspects' counsel said the video shooting had taken place as per terms and conditions enumerated in the permission granted by the Auqaf department.
Complainant Sardar Farhat Manzoor Khan lodged the FIR in Akbari Gate police station under Section 295 of the PPC against the actors, the mosque administration and officials of the department. He contended that the act had hurt the sentiments of Muslims.
Under Article 295 of the PPC, “Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction damage or defilement as an insult to their religion shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both."
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2022.