ISLAMABAD-
Supreme Court has granted bail to a British national of Pakistani origin, Murad-ur-Rehman, who had been imprisoned for five years over blasphemy charges, levelled by journalist Ansar Abbasi , according to the report published in the Express Tribune on Tuesday.
The bail was granted by a two-member bench of Supreme Court, presided by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa , in an offence under section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) last month.
“We have felt inclined to admit the petitioner (accused) to bail at such a stage of the case not only because the petitioner requires a specialist attention to his medical condition but also because the delay in conclusion of his trial has been found by us to be unconscionable, this petition is, therefore, converted into an appeal and the same is allowed”, the SC said in its four-page judgment.
According to Additional Prosecutor General Sindh Saleem Akhtar, journalist Ansar Abbasi had registered a case against the accused after receiving an allegedly blasphemous email.
No significant progress has been seen in the trail since the charge was framed on June 3, 2010.
Previously on May 22, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had refused to grant bail to Rehman in the blasphemy case, which was registered at Gizri police station in Karachi on July 18, 2009.
Later, the accused appealed to the Supreme Court over the SHC’s rejection of his plea.
On October 17, Asma Jahangir appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
The apex court also grieved over the long time of five years that the accused has spent in prison without being declared as guilty.
The bench also declared that the case record shows the accused has shown symptoms of a possible psychological disorder as explained in the medical report of Professor Dr S Haroon Ahmed regarding the petitioner prepared on May 11, 2011.
On the other hand, senior lawyer Tariq Mahmood alleged that trial courts are reluctant to give verdict in blasphemy case due to out- of- court pressure.
good decision by the SC…blasphemy law need to be re-visited & made effective, not discriminatory….the person was not found guilty but he spent 5 years in jail…whose fault is this ? then the gentlemen has suffered so much that he became mental….who will answer for such folly to Allah swt ? we surely living in stone age….
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