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Police officers walk past the Supreme Court of Pakistan building in Islamabad, Pakistan April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has rejected the pre-arrest bail plea of an accused who was allegedly involved in setting fire to the house and animals of his rivals.
During the hearing of the plea on Friday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan asked whether the complainant’s house and animals were actually set on fire.
A police officer replied that the house and the animals were really burnt; however, no bullet casings were recovered from the scene. The complainant’s counsel told the court that the accused, Amjad Ali, wanted to buy a plot of land from his clients and after their refusal, he set fire to their house and animals.
Justice Khan asked what the police’s unannounced investigations indicated. The policeman said the accused had taken oath on the Holy Quran during a jirga and claimed that he had not committed the act.
Justice Khan observed that if the courts were to make decisions on the basis of oaths taken on the holy book, the jails would be empty. “Convictions based on such oaths are not part of the legal system and the police must collect proper evidence,” he noted. The court subsequently rejected the pre-arrest bail application.
