A local court on Saturday adjourned till March 25 the indictment of a judge and his wife accused of torturing a 10-year-old girl working in their house as a maid.

Both accused, former additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife, Maheen Zafar, were called more than twice when the hearing began. However, both failed to show up.

An application was submitted on behalf of the two while the hearing was underway, asking the court to exempt the accused from attending it.

Judicial Magistrate Haider Shah, presiding over the case, approved the request, saying the accused must attend the next hearing scheduled for March 25.

Earlier, Maheen Zafar had submitted a written request to the interior ministry on Feb 20, stating that the leader of a "mafia" is conspiring against her and her husband. "The mafia maligned Raja Khurram Ali Khan with fabricated stories," the request stated, adding that negative propaganda was created via social media reports of Tayyaba's torture.

Last hearing

In the latest hearing in the IHC on the matter, held on Feb 10, Tayyaba's father had submitted an affidavit to a local court claiming her employers did not torture her, bringing the case back to where it was at the start of the year.

This was the second time Tayyaba's father made the claim.

Mohammad Azam, the child’s father, had dismissed media reports about Tayyaba’s abuse in the affidavit, saying that after looking into the matter he had concluded that both Khan and his wife were innocent.

He said the media had misreported the facts of the case, and he had reserved the right to take action against journalists. Azam said he did not want to pursue a case and would not object if the court granted bail to the suspects.

Case history

Tayyaba, who was allegedly tortured by Khan's family, was rescued from his house in Islamabad with visible wounds on Dec 28, 2016. A First Information Report was registered against him and his wife, Maheen Zafar, on Dec 29, 2016.

On Jan 2, 2017, the ADSJ had reached a compromise with Tayyaba’s parents, on the basis of which Zafar secured pre-arrest bail from the court of ADSJ Raja Asif Mehmood the same day. On Jan 3, ADSJ Atta Rabbani had handed over custody of Tayyaba to her parents.

On Jan 4, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu notice of the matter.

The court had directed police to investigate the case from every aspect, and on a subsequent hearing on Jan 11, observed that the role of Chakwal-based lawyer Raja Zahoor Hassan — who began a practice in Islamabad a couple of years ago — was of key interest with regard to the "illegitimate" compromise first reached between the suspects and the child’s family.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had remarked during proceedings that there was no doubt that a criminal act had been committed in the Tayyaba case.

The court had also directed the police to investigate how the compromise deed was prepared, as well as matters related to internal trafficking of child labour.

In its report, the police had focused only on the child’s abuse and the possible involvement of the suspects. On Jan 26, the SC had expressed displeasure with the way the police investigated the case.

The case was referred back to the IHC by the Supreme Court for further deliberations.