PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has rejected bail plea of a suspect arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor boy of five in Shangla district over two months ago.

A single-member bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar ruled that there was a prima facie case against the suspect named Amani Room, hence he didn’t deserve his release on bail in the circumstances.

The court also turned down the petitioner’s contention that a compromise had taken place and the complainant (father of the alleged victim) had given an affidavit that they had no objection if the petitioner was released on bail or acquitted in the case.

The FIR of the alleged occurrence was registered at Aloch police station in Shangla on Oct 5, 2024, under section 376 (punishment for rape) of Pakistan Penal Code and section 53 (sexual abuse) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act.

The complainant, who had accompanied his minor son the police station, had claimed that the child had gone to residence of one of their relatives along with his grand-mother, where he was sexually abused by the petitioner.

The petitioner has also confessed his guilt before a judicial magistrate.

The bench ruled that the positive FSL report regarding swab of the victim and the petitioner corroborated the allegations levelled in the FIR against the petitioner.

“Tentatively, the evidence on record coupled with the confessional statement of petitioner prima facie connects him with a serious and heinous offence, the punishment of which falls within the restrictive clause of section 497 CrPC, therefore, he is not entitled to the concession of bail,” the bench ruled.

About the compromise between the parties, the bench observed that admittedly, the offence was non-compoundable while grant of bail or its refusal to an accused is required to be decided keeping in view the attending circumstances of each case.

Referring to an earlier judgment of the high court, the bench observed that compromise in bail matters had by and large been considered as one of the factors, alongside the facts of the case, for determining whether bail be granted, but same couldn’t be made its sole basis.

It was added that compromise in non-compoundable offence should not entitle the accused to bail but could be considered as one of the factors for its grant.

The bench observed that the effect of compromise would be seen by the trial court, but keeping in view facts and circumstances of the present case, the plea of the petitioner for his bail couldn’t be accepted on the said ground.

Earlier, the bail pela of the petitioner was also rejected by an additional sessions judge in Shangla on Dec 4.

That court had also observed that prima facie the accused/ petitioner was found involved in commission of the offence of heinous nature, shocking to society as well as of moral turpitude, which could neither be compromised nor nearable in the society rather accused involved in such like offences must be dealt with an iron hand as such like offences were increasing day by day in the society.

It was added that if accuse in such cases were released on bail, it would encourage the negative elements of society.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024