KARACHI(National Times)- The Sindh High Court has dismissed a bail application of an accused in a case pertaining to rape of his minor daughter.
A single-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Omar Sial observed that around 10-year-old victim had appeared at the trial, narrated the ordeal and her testimony carried an air of authenticity and did not appear to be tutored or coached in any manner.
The applicant has been charged with allegedly raping his underage daughter at their house within the remit of the Aziz Bhatti police station in December last year.
After the dismissal of his post-arrest bail application at the trial court, the accused through his lawyer moved the SHC and after hearing both sides as well as examining the record, the SHC turned down his bail plea.
The lawyer for the applicant, Sanam Mustafa, took the plea of false implication and when queried as to the motive behind such an accusation, she asserted that it was the third marriage of the complainant, the victim’s mother, with the accused.
The counsel argued that at the time of the marriage, the accused had agreed to gift the complainant a plot while the applicant’s daughter from his first wife would be married off to the complainant’s nephew, but after the marriage disputes arose and the woman had expressed a desire to reconcile with her first husband.
She further contended that the false accusation arose from this matrimonial discord while the medical evidence on record was inconsistent and did not support the accusation.
An additional prosecutor general of Sindh opposed the plea and supported the decision of the trial court.
The bench in its order noted that the arguments advanced by the counsel for the applicant were not only insensitive, but also served to trivialise the trauma endured by the survivor.
It also said, “Further, the contents of the bail memo reflected a dismissive and condescending attitude toward women who choose to remarry, reducing a deeply personal decision to a point of criticism. Such remarks and insinuations are deeply troubling and not appropriate from a legal professional — more so given that the counsel herself is a woman, from whom a greater degree of empathy and awareness on issues affecting women could reasonably have been expected.”
The bench further observed that the victim has appeared as a witness at trial and narrated the ordeal to which she was subjected by her father and upon tentative assessment, her testimony carried an air of authenticity and did not appear to be tutored or coached in any manner.
The victim’s post-incident behaviour and conduct, as described in her testimony, also appears natural and consistent with that of a child who has experienced trauma, it added.
It noted that the delay in lodging the FIR at this stage did not materially benefit the accused in the given circumstances of the case. Furthermore, the victim had absolutely no motive or mala fide intent to falsely implicate her own father at the behest of her mother.
The bench also said the girl was medically examined on Jan 1, and a medical report indicated that accusation may well be substantiated while samples were collected for DNA analysis, but the laboratory did not detect presence of spermatozoa and the reasons for the same have been duly noted in the report.
“It is further relevant that the definition of rape under the Pakistan Penal Code has been significantly expanded, and now encompasses a range of acts that do not necessarily require penetration. In view of the foregoing, the bail application is hereby dismissed,” it concluded.
