Rehman Malik approaches SC against IHC order in Cynthia case

Former interior minister Rehman Malik approached the Supreme Court (SC), requesting to set aside the order passed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowing the writ petition of US blogger Cynthia D Ritchie.

The IHC had earlier this month referred the matter of registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the PPP leader in a rape case to the Justice of Peace for review.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasir Javed Rana had dismissed a petition filed by the American national under sections 22-A and 22-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (CrPC), seeking court's directive for the registeration of a criminal case against Rehman Malik. Urging the apex court to grant leave to appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution against the impugned order of IHC dated September 1, 2020, allowing the writ petition of US blogger, Malik also requested the court to set the impugned order and restore the order passed by the Justice of Peace. Malik submitted that the allegations levelled by the respondent were incomplete and thus this does not make out a case for rape, as the necessary ingredients to constitute the offence of rape were absolutely missing from the complaint.

The former minister maintained that the IHC failed to consider that the complaint was lodged after a long and inordinate delay after an elapse of more than nine years and how veracity and sanctity can be attached to the same, especially when the same was lodged after the petitioner took suo moto notice of her allegations levelled against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He said that the matter was also examined by the Superintendent Police (SP) who too found the allegations unsubstantiated and false.

Malik has made Cynthia D. Ritchie, Justice of Peace, Islamabad, SP Complaint, Islamabad, and SHO, Secretariat, Islamabad as respondents in the appeal. On August 5, an Additional District and Sessions Judge had dismissed a petition of Ritchie seeking registration of a rape case against Senator Malik after a police report termed the complaint "baseless".

According to the police report, Ritchie had neither produced any evidence to corroborate the allegation of rape nor had she placed any material on record to show that she had been harassed.

In her application filed with the Secretariat Police Station on June 17, Ritchie had accused Malik of raping her at his residence in 2011. She had also alleged that the former interior minister in connivance with former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had employed the Pakistan People's Party Media Cell to intimidate, threaten, harass and defame her on social media.

The police in response to the court order submitted a report stating that Richie had not filed any complaint with the police station regarding her rape allegations back in 2011.