PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has granted bail to a suspect charged with killing of his wife and throwing her body in the Panjkora River in Dir Upper around five months ago.

A single-member bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan accepted bail plea of the suspect named Faisal Amin, a resident of Dir Upper, on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs100,000 each.

The complainant in the FIR was Fawad Khan, the brother of the deceased woman Sania Bibi. The FIR was registered at Dir City police station under sections 302 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant had charged the petitioner along with his father Mohammad Amin, his younger brother Zameen and his mother Bacha sultana. The three other suspects had already been set free on bail by different courts.

The complainant claimed that he received information on April 24, 2022, that the body of his sister was recovered from the Panjkora River by officials of Rescue-1122 and was shifted to a rural health centre.

Court directs petitioner to furnish two sureties of Rs100,000 each

He claimed that his sister was married to Faisal Amin around four years ago and they were having two sons. He alleged that the relations between his sister and her husband and in-laws remained strained. He alleged that few days before the occurrence his sister told them that the suspects were threatening her that she would be killed.

The bench observed that the record of the case revealed that the complainant himself was not an eyewitness to the occurrence as the body of the deceased was found in the river and later on shifted to hospital.

The bench observed that the record showed that the petitioner was charged for mere suspicion as he was the husband of the deceased woman.

It was ruled that there was nothing available on record that the petitioner had either directly or indirectly participated in the commission of the offence.

The bench observed that three co-accused in the case had already been released on bail and the principle of consistency attracted to the case of petitioner.

The bench also referred to a recent judgment of the Supreme Court wherein it was held that benefit of doubt, if established, could be extended even at bail stage.

The court observed that every accused was innocent until his guilt was proved and benefit of doubt could be extended even at bail stage if the facts of the case so warranted.

Few days ago, an additional district and sessions judge in Dir Upper rejected bail pleas of the petitioner and his father, observing that they were directly charged for a heinous offence.

The court observed that the record showed that the deceased woman was residing in the house of the accused and later on her dead body was recovered from the Panjkora River so, huge responsibility and burden rested on the shoulders of the accused persons to explain the cause of death of the deceased.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2022