Case of a girl raped by Father
· Not specified
This case, decided by the Federal Shariat Court (2012 YLR 847), involved an appeal by a man named Zulfiqar Ali against his conviction for raping his own daughter.
The victim testified that her father had sexually assaulted her on three occasions. She did not report the crime immediately, explaining that she feared the consequences for her father and was conscious of her family's honour, only going to the police once she could no longer bear his behaviour. The court found her testimony credible and consistent, noting she had complained to her mother each time the abuse occurred. Her account was backed up by medical evidence, a Chemical Examiner's report, and DNA evidence. There was no evidence suggesting she had a bad reputation or ulterior motive, and the court dismissed the defence's claim that she was involved with another man as baseless and unsubstantiated.
The court held that a delay in filing a police report does not automatically weaken a prosecution's case if the delay is reasonably explained and other evidence is strong. It emphasized that a daughter would not fabricate such a serious accusation against her own father without real cause. Given the severity of the crime, the court ruled that the father deserved exemplary punishment and upheld his conviction and sentence.
This judgment matters because it reinforces that courts should sensitively consider the psychological and social pressures victims of familial sexual abuse face, rather than treating delayed reporting as automatically suspicious.
یہ مقدمہ، جس کا فیصلہ وفاقی شرعی عدالت نے کیا (2012 YLR 847)، ذوالفقار علی نامی ایک شخص کی اپیل سے متعلق تھا جو اپنی ہی بیٹی کی عصمت دری کے جرم میں اپنی سزا کے خلاف دائر کی گئی تھی۔
متاثرہ لڑکی نے گواہی دی کہ اس کے باپ نے تین مرتبہ اس کے ساتھ جنسی زیادتی کی۔ اس نے فوری طور پر یہ واقعہ رپورٹ نہیں کیا اور اس کی وضاحت کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اسے اپنے باپ کے انجام کا خوف تھا اور وہ اپنے خاندان کی عزت کا بھی خیال رکھتی تھی، اور جب وہ مزید اس کا رویہ برداشت نہ کر سکی تو پولیس کے پاس گئی۔ عدالت نے اس کی گواہی کو قابلِ اعتبار اور ہم آہنگ پایا، اور یہ نوٹ کیا کہ وہ ہر بار زیادتی کے بعد اپنی ماں سے شکایت کیا کرتی تھی۔ اس کے بیان کی تصدیق طبی شواہد، کیمیکل ایگزامینر کی رپورٹ، اور ڈی این اے شواہد سے بھی ہوتی تھی۔ ایسا کوئی ثبوت موجود نہیں تھا جو اس کی بری شہرت یا کسی پو