Hudood case against newly-wed couple
HYDERABAD – The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on May 17 ordered a police investigating officer to submit details of investigation into a Zina and Hudood Ordinance case against a newly-married couple within one week.
Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali of the SHC also directed the police officer to explain why a charge-sheet of the case had not been submitted in the relevant court despite the lapse of one year.
The order was passed on a petition jointly filed by Maryam and her husband, Mohammad Hassan Bhungar. They have cited the SHO of the Satellite Town police station, Mirpurkhas, and the investigating officer, Zawar Hussain as respondents.
Maryam stated in the petition that she married Mr. Hassan of her free will in Badin on March 12, 2003 and her father lodged a case with the police station under section 11-16 of the Zina and Hudood Ordinance on the same day.
She said that her husband was arrested and then released after she recorded a statement under section 164, Cr.PC, before the judicial magistrate-I, Mirpurkhas, on March 24, 2003 denying the allegations contained in the FIR and added that police also allowed her to go with her husband.
She stated that her father continued asking the police to take action against them. As a result, she said, despite lapse of one year, the police were not submitting charge-sheet of the FIR and were unnecessarily calling her at the police station to force her to dissociate herself from her husband.
Mrs. Maryam prayed the court to direct the police not to harass them and submit the charge-sheet in the court. In his statement, the SHO denied the charges leveled against him, saying that the matter concerned the investigation officer.
The investigating officer said that the delay in submission of the charge-sheet was not willful but was caused by his failure to locate the couple. He prayed the court to condone for the delay and dismiss the petition.
NO HARASSMENT: On another petition, Sindh Additional Advocate-General Masood A. Noorani assured Justice Jamali that no harassment would be caused to a woman, who said that she was being pressured to withdraw the murder case of her husband pending before the VIIth additional district judge.
Justice Jamali, however, ordered that if the woman wanted to seek any remedy, she could approach the sessions judge of Hyderabad. The woman appeared before the SHC judge and said that her husband, Allah Bachayo, was killed by private respondents on August 21, 2003.
She stated that the respondents had obtained bail from the court and asked her to withdraw the case and sign a compromise, failing which she and her family would face consequences. She apprehended that her life was in danger and prayed that the SHC bench should direct the additional district judge to reject the bail of accused.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/16/2004
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