PESHAWAR, March 29: The Peshawar High Court on Monday dismissed the bail petition of a man accused of assaulting his daughter-in-law. A single bench comprising Justice Malik Hamid Saeed observed that the accused did not deserve any leniency keeping in view the heinous nature of the offence.
Although the complainant had appeared before the court and stated that she had entered into a compromise with accused Sathkbar Khan, state counsel Shahnawaz Khan objected to the statement. He argued that offences under the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, were not compoundable.
The state counsel said that rape was not an offence against an individual rather it was an offence against society. An FIR was registered at the Lal Qila police station in Dir on Dec 18, 2003, about 10 months after the accused had allegedly molested his daughter-in-law. The complainant's husband, Abdul Razak, was working in Saudi Arabia at that time.
The prosecution claimed that the complainant had got pregnant after the occurrence. He said that before delivery of a child she left her residence to take refugee at the residence of a local cleric. She gave birth to a baby girl and on the advice of the cleric lodged the FIR.
