PESHAWAR, June 2: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday set aside the conviction by an anti-terrorism court of a juvenile offender in a case of sexual abuse of a minor girl and remanded the case to the regular court. A two-member bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Fazalur Rehman observed that rape was not mentioned in the schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, therefore the anti-terrorism court had no jurisdiction to try the appellant.

The appellant, Mian Gulistan, who was 14 at the time of the incident in 2003, was convicted in December 2004 and was sentenced to four years imprisonment with a fine of Rs20,000.

An FIR was registered against the appellant at the Mingora police station in Swat on July 24, 2003. He was charged with abusing an eight-year-old girl whose family used to be their tenant.

The prosecution claimed that the girl used to visit the appellant’s residence to get water. On the day of the incident the appellant was alone in the house and he assaulted the girl.

Advocate Yousaf Khan Yousafzai appeared for the appellant and contended that the trial was without jurisdiction as crimes under the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979, were not mentioned in the schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

He said the appellant was a minor boy and at the time of occurrence he was studying in 5th class. He added that the maturity level of the appellant was not such that he could understand the gravity of the crime.

The state counsel conceded that the ATC had no powers to try offences falling under the Zina ordinance.