Top court rejects pre-arrest bail of alleged arsonist

The Supreme Court has rejected the pre-arrest bail application of an accused allegedly involved in setting fire to the house and animals of his rivals.

During hearing of the plea on Friday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan inquired if the house and animals of the complainant were actually set on fire.

A police official replied that the house and animals were indeed burnt; however, no bullet casings were recovered from the scene. Counsel for the complainant told the court that the accused, Amjad Ali, wanted to purchase a plot from his clients and, upon their refusal, he set their house and animals ablaze.

Justice Khan asked what the police's undeclared investigations pointed to. The policeman said the accused had taken an oath on the Holy Quran during a jirga, claiming that he had not committed the act.

Justice Khan remarked that if courts were to take decisions on the basis of oaths taken on the holy book, jails would have emptied. "Verdicts based on such oaths are not part of the legal system and police must collect proper evidence," he noted. The court subsequently dismissed the pre-arrest bail application.