22 May 2004	Saturday	02 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

MUZAFFARABAD, May 21: AJK Shariat Court Chief Justice Syed Manzoor Hussain Gillani on Friday took strong exception to the practice of filing appeals on behalf of the government without bothering to look into their maintainability and justification.

Appeals are filed against citizens in cases which have no footing and people are unnecessarily harassed and dragged into litigation and put under financial and psychological pressure, remarked the chief justice while dismissing an appeal against the acquittal of one Mazhar Hussain by Tehsil Criminal Court, Bhimber, in October last year in an adultery case.

Mr Hussain was booked by the Bhimber police in Nov 1999 after one Fazal Ahmed alleged in an FIR that the accused with the help of his father, Misri Khan, had enticed the complainant's wife and committed adultery. However, the court found no evidence to establish the allegation.

Justice Gillani noted that the FIR was filed on Sept, 16, 1999, three weeks after the offence had allegedly been committed and no explanation was given for the belated reporting.

More so the witnesses produced by the prosecution did not connect the accused in any manner with the commission of the offence. The victim was neither taken to any doctor nor her medical certificate was placed on record, the chief justice pointed out.

He said the entire story of the prosecution appeared to be concocted and it was bewildering that the man and his father were alleged to have committed adultery with the woman.

It was an imprudent allegation besides being impossible in view of social, cultural and moral fabric of the society, he said.

When the chief justice asked the advocate-general how had he filed the appeal when evidence did not connect and convince any reasonable person into believing the charges against the accused, he stated that the law department had directed him to file the appeal without consulting and seeking the opinion on their maintainability.

Justice Gillani remarked that it was surprising that the principal law officer of the government was not consulted before the filing of appeals and appeals literally tormenting respectable citizens were filed. He directed the law department to first seek opinion of the lawyer, who is assigned to file an appeal, whether it was maintainable or not.