PESHAWAR, Jan 17: The Peshawar High Court on Monday accepted bail petitions of five former employees of a local school allegedly involved in a case of sexual abuse of students.

A single-judge bench, Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, pronounced a short order after completion of arguments by both the defence and state counsel.

Five former employees of the City Government Higher Secondary School No3 for Boys - two teachers, Abdul Qayyum and Himayatullah, two clerks, Humayun and Shahnawaz, and a watchman Abdul Baseer - were arrested on Dec 3, 2004, after their pre-arrest bail was rejected by an additional district and sessions judge.

Imdad Hussain Adil appeared on behalf of Humayun and Himayatullah, Sattar Khan represented Shahnawaz while Mohammad Arif appeared for Qayyum and Baseer. Deputy Advocate-General Ayaz Khan represented the government.

Mr Adil contended that the petitioners had been falsely implicated in the case at the behest of a former principal who had been accused of administrative wrong doings. He argued that there was no proof of allegations as none of the students had charged the petitioners with committing any offence.

He said that four separate inquiries had been conducted in the case, including one on the order of the education department in which the petitioners had been exonerated.

He added that the findings of the inquiry conducted by the school's Parents-Teachers Association were no different from the findings of the education department's inquiry team.

He contended that a DSP, Rafique Khan Swathi, had conducted an inquiry under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, adding that even that inquiry could not prove anything against the accused.

He said that the chief minister had approved a summary for registering the FIR without going into the legality of the case. He said that the judicial inquiry was 'a bit vague' but it also did not prove anything against the petitioners.

Deputy Advocate-General Ayaz Khan argued that the FIR was registered in the light of a judicial inquiry, which had recommended that action should be taken against the accused.