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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
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Judgment in a case where the girl was raped by her father. Citation Name : 2012 YLR 847 FEDERAL-SHARIAT-COURT Side Appellant : ZULFIQAR ALI Side Opponent : State S. 376--- Rape--- Appreciation of evidence---Victim girl was subjected to zina by her own father---Statement made by the victim inspired confidence; it appeared, but natural that she did not report the matter to police on the first two occasions when she was unmarried and had naturally considered its future repercussions against her father---Victim was also conscious of the honour of her family as stated by her--- family pressure in such matters was always apparent; in her own words, when she got sick of the attitude of her father, she had no other option, but to report the matter to the Police---Victim girl had made a very convincing statement---All the three times after her rape, she protested and complained about the occurrence to her mother; her statement was fully supported by medical evidence; and further corroborated by report of the Chemical Examiner---Nothing was on record to show that she was either a girl of easy virtue or had any bad reputation in the community---Mere delay in lodging F.I.R., per se was not at all fatal to the case of prosecution, if the other evidence, inspired confidence and delay was plausibly explained----In the present case, the delay had been plausibly explained---Mental agony of the young teenager girl, could be well-imagined as she was raped by her real father---Single accused having been nominated in the case, delay plausibly explained, was natural and reasonable and did not damage the prosecution case---Discrepancies and contradictions about time, were very trivial and natural and did not affect the main version about the occurrence---Defence plea taken by accused about relations of the victim girl with a person, was baseless, unsubstantial and appeared rather criminal---No cogent piece of evidence or any defence witness was available to support said allegation---Deposition of victim girl found full support from the testimony of her mother---Statements by both were fully consistent in material particulars, rang true and inspired confidence---Report of the Chemical Examiner as well as DNA report, had lent corroboration---Real daughter would never charge her own father for committing such a heinous offence, without any rhyme or reason---Prosecution had proved its case against accused to the hilt, keeping in view the gravity of the offence, accused deserved an exemplary deterrent punishment---Accused, had been rightly convicted and sentenced and impugned judgment called for no interference---Conviction and sentence awarded to accused by the Trial Court, was maintained and murder reference was confirmed and answered in affirmative.