ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: The Supreme Court has ordered disciplinary action against an Anti-Terrorism Court judge for granting bail to a woman in a blasphemy case when a bail petition on her behalf was pending before the apex court. On Wednesday, an SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had directed accused Krishna Wanti to appear before it after four weeks to help it ascertain why she had been released on bail by the trial court when a bail petition on her behalf was pending before the Supreme Court.

Judge Mohammad Ayaz Khan of the Mardan Anti-Terrorism Court had explained in a letter to the SC registrar that the bail had been suggested by the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) after the woman had embraced Islam in detention.

PHC Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan had earlier granted bail to her husband, Chaman Lal, after he appeared before him to inform that he had converted to Islam.

Judge Ayaz Khan said the PHC chief justice made the suggestion after listening to Ms Wanti during a visit to the Mardan district jail.

The ATC judge said that when she was produced in the court on Dec 12 she announced in presence of elders and clerics that she had converted to Islam of her own free will in front of the PHC chief justice. She said that she had recited kalma thrice in presence of a cleric, Maulvi Abdul Hadi, and adopted Fatima as her Muslim name.

Ms Wanti and husband Chaman Lal were arrested in September on the charge of desecrating the Holy Quran on Aug 31. The FIR was lodged with the IDS police station in Swabi on the complaint of Saeedullah.