PESHAWAR, Nov 16: The Peshawar High Court has turned down the request of a former principal of a local school for staying proceedings in the case of sexual abuse of students pending before additional district and sessions judge Farahtullah Khan.

A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafazai, also directed that a pre-arrest bail petition of people involved in the case and pending before the additional district and sessions judge should be decided on merit.

The bench, which took up for preliminary hearing a writ petition filed by former school principal Hussain Shah, directed that the advocate-general should appear before the court on next hearing.

The former principal has challenged the registration of an FIR on Oct 23 at the Kabuli Police Station against him and eight other former staffers of the City Government Higher School No-3 for Boys.

The petitioner has prayed to the court to quash the impugned FIR as the police had stated that no case could be constituted against them.

The FIR was registered in the light of a judicial inquiry conducted by an additional district and sessions judge, Jamal Khan, who had held nine former staffers responsible for the sexual abuse of students. The inquiry had determined that six of the staffers, including Hussain Shah, 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 sections 377, 409, 420, 468 and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The nine officials are: three teachers Himayatullah, Abdul Qayyum and Mubarak Ahmad; two clerks Shahnawaz and Mohammad Humayun; a watchman Abdul Baseer; and, three former headmasters Syed Hussain Shah, Abdul Rashid Khan and Gul Nawaz.

Sattar Khan advocate appeared for the petitioner and contended that the AIG (legal) in his findings had stated that on the basis of available evidence no case could be constituted against the persons charged in the FIR.

Similarly, he said that an inquiry conducted by the Crimes Investigation Department also showed that no case could be constituted against them.

Mr Khan stated a pre-arrest bail petition of the nine staffers was pending before the court of additional district and sessions judge. He said they were granted an interim bail and Thursday was fixed for further hearing. He requested the court to stay those proceedings till the final disposal of the writ petition.

In an another development, the additional district and sessions judge, Farhatullah Khan, adjourned the hearing of the pre-arrest bail of nine staffers to Nov 13, with the observation that no further adjournments would be allowed to the applicants.

Sattar Khan and Abdul Lateef Afridi advocates appeared for the applicants. Sattar Khan requested the court to adjourn the hearing as he was busy in various cases before the high court.

The court observed that the hearing was adjourned on previous four occasions due to one reason or the other. The judge observed that the bail before arrest applications were of urgent nature and they should be disposed of at the earliest.

Sattar Khan requested the court to fix the case after Eid. However, the bench turned down his request, observing that much delay had occurred in the case.

The nine staffers were granted an interim pre-arrest bail on Oct 25 following which arguments on the case could not take place during past four hearings and the pre-arrest bail was extended.

Public prosecutor Suraya Makhfi stated that she had gone through the file and was prepared to argue it.

A large number of teachers visited the court for expressing solidarity with the accused-persons.