ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the bail plea of a woman who had been incarcerated for three-and-a-half years under blasphemy charges.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, granted bail to Waliha Irfat – currently incarcerated at the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore – with directions to submit bail bonds worth Rs25,000, on an appeal against an Aug 28 Lahore High Court verdict rejecting a similar plea.

Rights activist Asma Jahangir represented Ms Irfat before the apex court and argued that she be granted bail until the case was concluded.

Soon after the court order, Ms Jahangir told Dawn that Ms Irfat had been detained since 2012, despite the fact that under the third proviso incorporated into Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), no woman could be kept behind bars for more than six months, unless convicted.

Take a look: Rise of blasphemy charges: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia in perspective

In her petition, Ms Jahangir pleaded that her client was innocent and being a Muslim, she could not even conceive of committing such a heinous crime.

Both the complainant Abdul Manum Shah and the prosecution witness Mohammad Boota have categorically stated, in their statements as well as sworn affidavits, that they had not seen the alleged desecration themselves, the appeal argued.

Abdul Manum Shah, who was a security guard at the Punjab Housing Society in Lahore, had filed an FIR on March 3, 2012, at the Factory Area Police Station under Section 295B, which deals with desecration of the Holy Quran.

In his complaint, the security guard had stated that he saw a woman crying near the Dogar Service Station. Upon inquiry, she accused Ms Irfat of defiling the holy book.

Soon after her arrest, Ms Irfat applied for bail, which was rejected by an additional sessions judge on July 10, 2012. She then applied for post-arrest bail before the LHC, but that was withdrawn on July 31.

She then filed a second bail petition before the additional sessions judge, which was also dismissed on Sept 27, 2013. She then applied for bail a third time before the same judge, who dismissed the petition again on April 11 this year.

Finding no reprieve, she then moved the LHC, seeking bail on June 13. The bail matter was heard by four different benches and finally, on Aug 28 bail was denied.

She then moved an appeal before the Supreme Court, which was finally allowed.

Ms Irfat’s appeal stated that the evidence recovered from her was planted with the connivance of another prosecution witness, due to a previous enmity. In addition, it claimed, the petitioner suffered from a mood disorder and displayed impulsive personality traits, and her treatment was not possible in prison since she needed drug treatment and psychotherapy.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play