Bibi, Asma

In June 2018 Asma Bibi was found guilty at Warrington Magistrates Court of falsely obtaining council tax benefit. She was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1000 costs.

Following an unsuccessful appeal, the Crown Court resentenced her to a community order with a 28-day curfew and ordered her to pay £2,500 in costs. 

Ms Bibi’s application to the CCRC was received in May 2021.  

After careful consideration, the CCRC decided to refer Ms Bibi’s conviction to Chester Crown Court, based on an argument that her original prosecution by Manchester City Council was “out of time”.

The Council Tax Regulations state that proceedings must be started in the magistrates’ court (known as “laying an information”) either within 12 months of the completion of the alleged offence or within three months of evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor (in this case Manchester City Council) to justify a prosecution for the offence, coming to the attention of the prosecutor.    

According to the charge, the offence concluded on 6 September 2016, but the information was not laid until 15 November 2017, over 14 months later. 

In the CCRC’s view there was a real possibility the Crown Court would find that the date on which there was sufficient knowledge by the prosecutor was either 17 March 2017 (when legal proceedings were recommended by the investigator) or 19 July 2017 (when the head of the Fraud Department authorised the case being passed to the Legal Department for prosecution).

As both dates were over three months before the information was laid, the CCRC decided that there was a real possibility that Ms Bibi’s conviction would be overturned on appeal.

The CCRC referred the conviction in June 2022.