Lahore judge recuses himself from bail plea in Azeri woman case

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Rafaqat Ali Gondal on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the bail application of Ahmed Tanveer, a key suspect in the case involving the alleged rape of an Azerbaijani woman, and referred the matter to the Lahore High Court for further proceedings.

The application had come up after the suspect's counsel, Advocate Safdar Shaheen Pirzada, filed a request seeking exemption for his client from personal appearance. Dawn reported that the lawyer told the court the suspect's interim bail expired on October 27 but he could not appear because he had been arrested in another case. According to Daily Times, the counsel said his client is currently in jail in connection with a 14-day identification parade in that other case, and asked for the exemption for a single hearing.

Judge Gondal told the counsel he was unable to hear the matter and that a formal reference had been sent to the high court. A new bench will now take up the bail question; no date has been announced.

Daily Times reported that the recusal came amid heightened public scrutiny of the case following public remarks by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on bribery allegations in high-profile sexual assault cases. According to that report, she said a wealthy family had offered money to a victim to withdraw her allegations, and noted that the complainant had already recorded a statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Dawn's report did not carry those remarks. Daily Times also reported that allegations had surfaced that judicial officers who granted bail earlier in the proceedings had been compromised.

The first information report was registered at the Defence-C police station in Lahore on the complaint of the foreign national, who accused three men of raping her after she was invited to a local establishment and nominated two women for alleged abetment. Daily Times described the case as a gang rape; Dawn referred to it as the rape case of an Azeri woman.

According to Daily Times, police said all five suspects named in the initial report, men and women, remain in custody. Investigators said the case would be pursued on merit on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence, and that physical evidence, digital communication records and medical reports were being reviewed ahead of the charge sheet.