PESHAWAR, Jan 19: Three people were arrested from the Peshawar High Court premises on Friday when a single-judge bench set aside a subordinate court’s order acquitting them of murder.

Justice Fazlur Rehman Khan accepted an application filed under section 561-A of the Criminal Procedure Code by Bahadur Khan who had charged Fazle Ameen, in-charge of the National Saving Centre, Kohat, Wisal Khan, a bank officer, and Khalid Anwer, a lecturer in a polytechnic institute in Swat, with killing his brother Fazle Maula.

The applicant had challenged an order of a judicial magistrate who had accepted a police plea and discharged the three people of the charges following which they had been released from prison.

The bench observed that police had no powers to discharge the accused under the Cr. PC once the court had taken cognizance of the case.

It observed that the judicial magistrate had also erred in allowing the application of the investigation officer.

Soon after the court order, the accused were taken into custody.

Fazle Maula was killed in the Akber Pura police area in Nowshera in August 2006.

The complainant had charged seven people with the killing, including Fazle Ameen, Wisal Khan and Khalid Anwer, who were arrested after their pre-arrest bail was dismissed by an additional district and sessions judge on Sept 27.

Their bail application after arrest was also dismissed on Oct 9 after which they filed a bail petition before the high court.

An interesting situation emerged when PHC Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan took up for hearing the bail petition on Nov 15 and the bench was informed that the accused wanted to withdraw the petition because they had been discharged of the charges.

The chief justice took exception to the issue and ordered issuance of a show-cause notice to the magistrate concerned.

The court also directed the complainant to avail any remedy under Cr.PC after which the complainant filed the application.