Two couples get relief in marriage cases
LAHORE, July 13: Justice M Bilal Khan of the Lahore High Court on Friday ordered quashment of an FIR against Nazim Ali of Hafizabad as a medical report denied the charge that he had married an underage girl.
The court had during previous hearing on Tuesday directed medical examination of girl Sumera who, according to the birth certificate produced by her brother before court, was just 13 years of age.
A report of the medical board, comprising doctors of the Services Hospital produced before the court on Friday, stated that the age of the girl was between 18 and 20 years, and that she was also with 11-week pregnancy.
The court had already accepted bail plea of Nazim who had contracted love marriage with Sumera without the permission of her family. Her brother got a kidnap case registered against Nazim who was arrested as the sessions court rejected his pre-arrest bail on the basis of the birth certificate issued by the union council declaring her age as 13 years.
In another love-marriage case, Justice Syed Hamid Ali Shah allowed Asma Mahmood of Thokar Niaz Beg to go along with her husband Ehsan Ali.
The couple contracted marriage on June 26 when the girl was 20 days short of 18 years, the legal age for wedding. They started living together as the girl’s father filed a habeas corpus petition with the LHC.
The Hanjarwal police, on a court direction, raided the house of Ehsan, owner of an auto-workshop on Multan Road, but failed to find the couple. They took into custody his elder brother and produced him before court.
Defence counsel Iqbal Husain Gilani produced nikahnama (marriage deed) of the couple and assured the court of producing Asma within two days to negate the allegation that she had been kidnapped.
Asma appeared before the court which directed her meeting with her parents and adjourned hearing of the case until end of the meeting this Wednesday.
Around three-hour argument of her mother failed to convince Asma to change her stance and part ways with Ehsan.
When the court again took up the case, the petitioner as well as his counsel were missing. The court adjourned hearing for Friday and directed shifting of the girl to Darul Aman to allow her time to think in seclusion about the social consequences of her decision, especially the honour of her father.
On Friday, the petitioner’s counsel requested that the girl be sent to Darul Aman for some more time, but the court did not agree to the argument.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/14/2007
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