PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has commuted the life term awarded to a convict for sexually assaulting a four-year-old boy to seven years imprisonment.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Syed Arshad Ali partially accepted an appeal filed by the convict, Arshadullah, and decided to reduce his prison term, but kept the fine of Rs300,000 imposed on him intact.

The convict was arrested for assaulting the minor in the jurisdiction of Lachi police station of Kohat on July 6, 2019. The complainant in the FIR was the victim’s father.

The convict was charged under section 377 (unnatural offence) of Pakistan Penal Code and section 53 (sexual abuse) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act (CPWA).

A child protection court in Kohat had convicted him under section 377 of PPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment with fine of Rs300,000. However, the court had not sentenced him under section 53 of CPWA.

Advocate Syed Bilal Jan Bacha appeared for the appellant and contended that the prosecution case was full of doubts and his client was wrongly convicted by the trial court.

He argued the victim’s medical examination report was also in support of the appellant. He added while the prosecution claimed the victim’s father had recorded his complaint at the place of occurrence, the complainant had stated he had gone to the police station for the same.

He argued that the complainant had now also recorded a statement claiming he had no objection if the appellant was acquitted by the court. An additional advocate general contended the trial court had erred in its judgment by not convicting the appellant under section 53 of CPWA.

When the bench inquired from him whether the government had filed any appeal against his non-conviction under CPWA, he replied in negative.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2022