SHC sets aside death sentence of man convicted of raping daughter

The Sindh High Court has set aside the death sentence of a man due to lack of evidence who was charged with raping his daughter.

Mohammad Saleem was sentenced to death by a Malir additional district and sessions judge after he was found guilty of raping his daughter on October 31, 2018.

According to the prosecution, the girl alleged that her father had sexually assaulted her after the death of her mother for the last four to five years and she had also become pregnant twice.

The appellant’s counsel submitted that the appellant was completely innocent and his daughter had implicated him in a fake case to hide the fact that she had turned to prostitution. He submitted that apart from evidence of his client’s daughter claim there was no evidence against him and he was entitled to acquittal of charges.

The deputy prosecutor general supported the prosecution case and defended the charges of the complainant against her father, submitting that the complainant’s evidence was to be believed over that of the father as it was corroborated by medical evidence, and requested the court to dismiss the appeal.

A division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi observed that there had been a delay of around five years in lodging the FIR and that might have led the complainant for whatever reason to falsely implicate her father.

The court observed that medical evidence does not support the fact that the complainant was raped as no marks were found on her body to suggest that the appellant had forced himself upon her; besides there was no DNA or semen match.

The court observed that there was no corroborative evidence of any abortion or even of her first child, which was apparently stillborn. It further said that the prosecution failed to prove allegations against the appellant and acquitted him while giving him the benefit of doubt.

The division bench set aside the conviction and ordered releasing him if not required in any case.

Acid-throwing convict

The Sindh High Court dismissed the appeal of a man against life imprisonment in an acid-throwing case.

Appellant Pervez alias Laddu was sentenced to life imprisonment for injuring a woman by throwing acid on her in the limits of the Korangi police station.

According to the prosecution, Khalida alleged that the appellant used to tease her in the locality and sometimes residents would intervene and stop him from doing so.

The prosecution alleged that the appellant threw acid on her on June 21, 2017, and she received injuries on her forehead, cheek, neck and shoulder.

The appellant’s counsel submitted that his client was falsely implicated in the case by the complainant as she wanted to grab his property, which was near her house. The deputy prosecutor general submitted that the prosecution proved its case against the appellant beyond any reasonable doubt and the appeal should be dismissed.

The court observed that throwing acid on the face and other body parts of a women is an extremely heinous crime, which not only leads to a great deal of physical and mental pain, anguish and trauma for the victim and their family. It said this can also lead to disfigurement for life which will in most cases have negative implications on the social life of the victim.

The court observed that the prosecution proved its case against the appellant beyond any reasonable doubt, and dismissed the appeal upholding the trial court order.