The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the bail petition of accused Maulvi Ahmed in a case related to unrest and violence that erupted during the burial of a person accused of blasphemy.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Jamal Mandokhail heard the matter. The court dismissed the bail application on the ground that it was withdrawn by the accused and directed the trial court to conclude the proceedings within three months.
During the hearing, counsel for the accused argued that a clash occurred at the time of the burial of the blasphemy accused, but maintained that his client, Maulvi Ahmed, was not present at the scene. In contrast, the state prosecutor informed the court that the accused addressed people at the spot, which incited the crowd and led to unrest.
The state counsel further submitted that statements of four witnesses had already been recorded in the case. The court was also informed that a case of incitement had been registered against the accused at Umerkot police station in Sindh’s Umerkot district.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Supreme Court dismissed the bail plea and ordered the trial court to ensure an expeditious conclusion of the case.
Man denied bail for targeting women online
The Supreme Court heard a bail petition filed by accused Tayyab Dar in a case involving the posting of obscene content against women on social media, and deferred its decision until next week. A two-member bench comprising Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Musarrat Hilali took up the matter.
During the hearing, complainant’s counsel Rizwan Abbasi informed the court that the accused is named in the FIR and that evidence exists showing his involvement in spreading obscene material on social media. He argued that the posts targeting women were so vulgar that they could not even be read aloud in court.
Counsel for the accused contended that the objectionable Facebook posts were uploaded by the accused’s son, and therefore, the father could not be held responsible for the actions of his son.
However, he conceded that the SIM card used for the posts was registered in the name of the accused and was being used by his son.