PESHAWAR, Aug 7: Peshawar District and Sessions judge Hayat Ali Shah on Thursday released three bonded labourers — a woman and her two children — kept in illegal confinement by a kiln owner.

Kiln owner Wakeel Khan had given Rs70,000 loan to Abdul Wahab, a kiln worker, some time ago which the latter failed to repay.

In order to recover the loan, the kiln owner took into his custody the wife and two children of Abdul Wahab.

The court ruled that the owner had no authority to keep the three persons in confinement in order to recover the loan he had given to the husband of the woman.

The court directed the owner to adopt a legal course to recover his debt.

The judge had summoned the owner, Wakeel Khan, in a habeas corpus petition filed by a brick kiln worker, Abdul Wahab, stating that his wife and two children had been kept in illegal detention by the kiln owner.

The petitioner stated that he had received a loan of Rs70,000 from Mr Wakeel and in return they had to do work at his brick kiln.

He added that Mr Wakeel had now kept his wife and children in illegal custody and had asked him to return the loan if he wanted the release of his family members.

The petitioner stated that keeping a person in confinement against his will was a crime under the Constitution of Pakistan and Pakistan Penal Code. He requested the court to exercise its powers under section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code for liberating the three detainees.

Mr Wakeel informed the court that the labourers had been adopting these tactics in order to avoid the payment of the loans received by them.

 He added that he had no other option but to keep Mr Wahab’s family members with him.

The court reprimanded Mr Wakeel for adopting an illegal way to resolve the issue and asked the owner to opt for a legal course for settling the monetary dispute.