PESHAWAR, July 30: A local court on Saturday adjourned the hearing of a bail petition filed by a man charged with desecration of the Holy Quran. The court, presided over by Shah Hussain Khan, fixed Aug 4 for next hearing.

Applicant Muhammad Rehman was arrested by the Gulbahar police after the imam of Farooq-i-Azam Jamia Mosque, Maulana Muhammad Shafiq, lodged a case against him on July 19. Rehman, 22, was charged under section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code dealing with the offence of defiling the Holy Quran.

The prosecution said that the accused was engaged in a quarrel with his father. His mother intervened and tried to stop him, but in vain. She then brought a copy of the Holy Quran and requested him to stop altercation but in a fit of anger he threw it away, the prosecution said.

When neighbours learnt about the incident they informed the prayer leader who lodged the FIR. The applicant said he was innocent.