PESHAWAR, Nov 23: An additional district and sessions judge, Farhatullah Khan, hearing a pre-arrest bail petition of nine staffers of a local school in the case of sexual abuse of students declined to hear the case on Tuesday.

When the court took up for hearing the case on Tuesday the petitioners counsel Sattar Khan, expressed no-confidence on the court, stating that his clients had no trust on the court.

The court declined to further hear the case and referred it to the Peshawar district and sessions judge, Hayat Ali Shah. The judge stated that he was under constant pressure from the petitioners who had approached him through different quarters.

The court observed that in present circumstances it would not be possible for him to hear this case. The district and sessions judge has now sent the case to another additional district and sessions judge, Shahid Khan, who will hear the case on Nov 30.

During last hearing before the court of Farhatullah Khan on Nov 11, the petitioners counsel had requested to fix the case after Eid holidays. However, the court fixed Nov 13 for hearing. But the government announced public holiday on Nov 13 and the case could not be heard.

The FIR against nine former staffers of the City Government Higher Secondary School for Boys NO 3 was registered at Kabuli police station on Oct 23 in the light of a judicial inquiry conducted by an additional district and sessions judge, Jamal Khan.

The judicial inquiry had held nine former staffers responsible for the sexual abuse of students. The inquiry had stated that six of the staffers were directly responsible in the case, whereas remaining three were accused of abetment as despite knowing that the offence was going on in the school they remained silent.

The FIR was registered under section 377, 409, 420, 468 and 471 of Pakistan Penal Code. The nine officials are: three teachers Himayatullah, Abdul Qayyum and Mubarak Ahmad; two clerks Shahnawaz and Muhammad Humayun; a watchman Abdul Baseer; and, three former headmasters Syed Hussain Shah, Abdul Rashid Khan and Gul Nawaz.