Man sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in boy rape case

A sessions court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for rape of a minor boy. Muneer Ahmed was found guilty of assaulting the 10-year-old boy in Chakiwara, Lyari on August 16, 2023.

Additional Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Zahoor observed that the victim being 10-year-old boy provided a direct and detailed account of the incident while identifying the accused as the man who assaulted him.

"The victim's testimony coupled with immediate disclosure, identification, and corroborating witness accounts build a compelling case." he noted, adding that the final medico-legal certificate also confirmed that the boy was subjected to sexual abuse.

"Though accused Muneer Ahmed is found guilty of an offence punishable under section 377 [of] PPC which pertains to unnatural offences but according to the recent amendments in Pakistan's legal framework, specifically the amendments made in 2021, sodomy is now included within the definition of rape under the section 375 of the Pakistan Penal Code," the judge said.

He said that this change reflected a broader understanding of sexual offences and aimed to provide better protection for victims of sexual violence. "Now in such situation when sodomy and similar offences are proven, they fall under the definition of rape as per the new amendments," he said.

The judge sentenced the accused to 10-year imprisonment for offence punishable under the Section 375 (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He ordered the convict to pay a fine of Rs100,000 or undergo an additional six-month imprisonment on default and if recovered, half the amount would be paid to the victim as envisaged under the Section 17 of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021.

According to state prosecutor Irfana Qadri, on August 16, 2023, the accused subjected the boy to sodomy. Advocate Bahzad Akbar of the Legal Aid Society, who represented the complainant, contended that the accused had committed a heinous offence, adding that medical evidence placed on record supported the statements of the victim boy and other private witnesses, which were sufficient to convict the accused.

He said that in the present case, an offence of sodomy had been established, which fell within the new definition of rape as per new law. Therefore, he argued that the court was empowered to convict the accused for the said offence that was punishable under the Section 375 of the PPC for committing rape. On the other hand, the accused rejected the prosecution’s allegations and claimed innocence.