ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday turned down a petition seeking quashment of an FIR registered with Margalla police station of Islamabad against the chairman of Geo TV Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman for committing alleged blasphemy and terrorism through airing controversial contents in a programme.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui dismissed the petition and sustained office objections in this matter.
Earlier, IHC registrar officer had raised objection that bail granting order is not affixed with the quashment of the FIR.
The petition cited additional sessions judge (ASJ) west/justice of peace, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Islamabad, station house officer (SHO) Margallah police station, one Arshad Mehmood Butt and state as respondents.
The petitioner informed the court that complainant Arshad Mehmood Butt moved an application on May 14, 2014 before the sessions judge and stated that he was watching a programme on Geo TV namely “Utho Jago Pakistan” wherein a lady host Dr Shaista Lodhi was celebrating the marriage of Veena Malik and Asad Bashir with a Qawwali and names of Ahl-e-Bait (Hazrat Ali R.A and Hazrat Fatima Zahra R.A) were used in derogatory manner.
The application was moved before the ASJ who directed SHO Margalla police station to lodge the FIR. The FIR was registered on May 17, 2014 under sections 295A, 295C, 298A, 34 of PPC and 7ATA.Petitioner Mir Shakil adopted before the IHC that it is alleged against him that he is chief executive of Geo TV and responsible for this act. He said allegations are factually incorrect, false and baseless.
He argued that the FIR was lodged illegally, unlawfully and therefore liable to be quashed. Geo News and Geo Entertainment are being run by independent media corporation (IMC) Pvt Ltd, registered under companies’ ordinance 1984. It is needless to mention that petitioner is not holding any office of IMC and factum of his involvement on pretext of chief executive of Geo is not only maliciously false, but factually incorrect and ridiculous.
“Unfortunately in the present case the petitioner has been entangled in violation of all legal/judicial principles for the safe administration of justice, without any evidence of common intention or common object,” maintained the petitioner.
He contended that he is not chief executive of IMC and thus he could not be involved in the present case. Furthermore the petitioner has no role in script writing, production or direction of above said episode. “The petitioner cannot think to commit such kind of act, which has tendency to outrage the religious feelings of Muslims,” he added.
He said that petitioner is a law-abiding citizen whose character is being stigmatised and his liberty is at stake due to colourful act of respondents, hence jurisdiction of this august court has been invoked.
He prayed to the court to quash the FIR registered against him with Margallah police station.