Notices issued on plea for underage girl’s medical examination

A sessions court has issued notices on a plea seeking a medical examination of an underage girl who went missing from her Karachi residence in April and was later found to have contracted a freewill marriage with a man in Punjab.

The 15-year-old girl’s father moved an application before District and Sessions Judge (East) Abdul Naeem Memon, challenging the orders of a judicial magistrate and an additional session judge that dismissed applications seeking permission for her medical examination to ascertain whether or not she was sexually abused during the period she stayed with her purported husband, Zaheer Ahmed, following her alleged illegal child marriage. After an initial hearing, the judge issued notices to the parties to submit their response on the plea by August 15 (Thursday).

Judicial Magistrate-XXVI (East) Aftab Ahmed Bughio had on August 1 dismissed the investigating officer’s application seeking permission to shift the teenage girl from the shelter home to a hospital for her medical examination. Later, the girl’s father challenged the magistrate’s order before Special Gender Based Violence Court (East) Judge Ilyas, but he also dismissed the plea.

The applicant’s lawyer said that the IO had submitted the final charge sheet after the completion of his investigation, invoking Section 375(v) (rape with or without her consent when she is under sixteen years of age) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the girl’s purported husband. Therefore, he argued, the girl was required to be medically examined to ascertain whether or not she was subjected to sexual abuse, and pleaded with the judge to order her medical examination for the purpose.