PESHAWAR, Feb 12: The Peshawar district and sessions judge, Hayat Ali Shah, on Saturday allowed a woman to go with her mother after her refusal to accompany her husband.

The woman, Ms Mussarat, was kept at a shelter home, Mera Ghar, run by the Aurat Foundation, for a month on the court's order and after her psychiatric and religious counselling she was produced before the court.

The court issued the order in a habeas corpus application filed by a lady named Hidayat Bibi, stating that her daughter Ms Mussarat was kept in an illegal confinement by her husband Iftikhar Ali. She stated that Mussarat had strained relations with her husband due to which she started residing with her mother, but her husband forcibly took her away.

Mr Shah had sent the girl to the shelter home directing that she should be produced after her counselling following which she would be in a better position to make a proper decision.

On both the previous hearings the woman had refused to accompany her husband.

On Saturday the court gave Mussarat some more time to reconsider her decision. When asked whether she was willing to accompany her husband, she replied in negative and requested the court to allow her to join her mother.

During her stay in the shelter home a case was registered against the applicant Hidayat Bibi by her second husband Wazir Khan charging her with adultery under the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979. She remained in prison for some time and was granted bail by a local court a few days ago.

Hidayat Bibi had assumed fame in April 1997 after she killed her husband Khaista Khan and an ASI of police Roshan Khan at her residence in Ghareebabad area.

In that case she was convicted by the district and sessions judge in 1998 and was sentenced to about two months prison term as she had committed the murders in self defence. She had alleged that her husband wanted to exploit her for sexual purposes.