KARACHI: A sessions court on Wednesday acquitted three suspects in a case pertaining to death of two minor children due to consumption of poisonous food at a restaurant since both parties jointly filed a compromise application in the court.

According to the prosecution, two minor brothers — one-and-a-half-year-old Ahmad and five-year-old Mohammad — had died after the family dined out at the Arizona Grill restaurant in Defence Housing Authority’s Zamzama area and afterwards the children consumed candy from a shop outside Chunky Monkey amusement park on the night of Nov 11, 2018.

The investigating officer had nominated Nadeem Mumtaz, the owner of Arizona Grill, and its employees Adnan Aleem, Mohammad Aamir Shaikh, Mohammad Ashraf and Abid Hussain, as accused in the investigation report for their “negligence and food adulteration”.

On Wednesday, additional district and sessions judge (South) Sara Junejo pronounced her verdict reserved on an application jointly filed by both the parties to compromise the matter.

The judge accepted the compromise plea and exonerated Nadeem Mumtaz, Adnan Aleem and Aamir Shaikh.

However, their alleged absconding accomplices Ashraf and Hussain were called absent.

The application was filed under Section 345(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which says that the offences punishable under Sections of the Pakistan Penal Code specified in the table (which includes Qatl-i-Amd registered under Section 302), with the permission of the court before which any prosecution for such offence is pending, be compounded by the heirs of the victims.

“The compromise [was] arrived [at] due to own free will with other parties, as mentioned above in the true spirit of Islam and in the name of Allah,” the application stated.

It was further mentioned that the offence punishable under Section 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab) of the PPC was compoundable and the permission of the court was required as there remained no dispute between the parties.

The court was asked to accept the compromise reached between the parties in the interest of justice and exonerate the suspects from all charges as mentioned in the charge sheet.

An affidavit was also filed on behalf of the complainant, Mohammad Ahsan, the father of the children.

The affidavit stated: “I out of my free will (and) without any threat, pressure, compromise without compensation with Arizona Grill restaurant owner, Nadeem Mumtaz, his employees, who are confined in the CJK, and others, who are implicated in the challan submitted by police,” ... pardon them “in the name of Almighty Allah”.

A case was registered against the suspects under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale) of the PPC at the Sahil police station.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2019