SHC denies bail to man charged with molesting daughter

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed the bail application of a man who is charged with molesting his daughter. Sohail Mehmood had been arrested by the police on charges of molesting his daughter over a period of four years in the Zaman Town area.

According to the prosecution, a complainant had lodged an FIR at a police station that the applicant had been molesting and sexually abusing his 15-year-old daughter since she was 11 years old.

The prosecution alleged that the applicant had attempted to rape his daughter on July 27, 2022, following which she informed her mother about the ordeal she had been subjected to by the applicant for four years.

The applicant’s counsel claimed that the allegations were false, saying that his client’s wife and daughter were lying simply because of the reason that the wife wanted separation from the applicant. The additional prosecutor general supported the trial court’s order of dismissing the bail plea of the applicant.

After hearing the arguments, a single SHC bench headed by Justice Omar Sial said that it would not be safe to let the applicant loose in society because he has all the ability and, prima facie, intent to pressurise and threaten the survivor and her mother in addition to repeating the offence with another child.

The court said that the acts of the applicant may very well fall within the ambit of the Pakistan Penal Code’s Section 375 (which deals with rape). Dismissing the bail application, the court also said that the case was being tried in the East district court, which had no facility to conduct trials when a victim in a case was a minor.

The SHC said that it would be appropriate that the present case be transferred from the East district court to the Malir district court so that the trial could take place at the juvenile court. The high court directed that the trial court should ensure the protection of privacy of the minor and not have her exposed directly to the applicant at any stage.

The court also directed the trial court to ensure that no inappropriate question is asked by any counsel from the minor and she should not have to live out her trauma again through the questions asked of her or her mother during the trial.

The SHC said the present case might entail applicability of the Anti-Rape (Investigation & Trial) Act, 2021, and the Malir sessions court should remain aware of the provisions of the Act. The court directed the Sindh police chief to ensure the safety of the minor and her mother until the conclusion of the trial.