LAHORE: A woman has gone to court against her husband, seeking the custody of a minor child, who has been handed over to the Edhi Foundation after allegations of an extramarital relationship.
The suspect has been accused of raping his niece that resulted in the birth of a boy.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted in the court that Sohail Baig brought his niece to his house from her poor parents to look after the couple’s children. Later on, the man developed extramarital relations with the girl, coaxing her on religious pretexts.
The wife learned about their relationship when the girl got pregnant. The woman sent back the girl to her house, where she gave birth to her son, who was handed over to an Edhi centre for children.
The lawyer argued the minor was a suckling baby and must be handed over to his real mother.
Meanwhile, the accused and his niece have also moved the court for getting custody of the minor child.
Sohail’s counsel denied all allegations in the court, saying it was impossible to keep an extramarital relationship for a year at his house without the family’s notice. He contended the story had been made up to humiliate and blackmail his client.
The lawyer claimed the biological mother had no right to get the custody of her child as she had thrown her son in a garbage dump. He added the father should be given the custody of the boy.
The woman’s counsel submitted the issue of the minor’s birth being legal or illegal had yet to be decided and the custody must be given to the biological mother.
Sohail’s lawyer, however, argued the court was not the proper forum to decide the minor’s legality and could only decide the matter of his custody.
The woman’s lawyer replied if the child was legal, then a Nikahnama should have been produced in court to establish that his client was indeed the wife of Sohail.
When the judge asked an Edhi volunteer why had he not brought the child to court, he replied the boy was ill and could not be produced today.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge reserved the decision.
Sohail’s wife told The Express Tribune she brought her husband to court for getting the minor’s custody and forgetting what her husband had done with his niece. She said she learnt about the relationship of her husband and her niece when the pregnancy had matured and it was not ethical to abort the child.
“Whatever was done was wrong but why are we punishing the minor?” she said, adding she would take care of the baby boy herself.
Sohail told The Express Tribune that he did not rape his niece but solemnised marriage with her that was in the knowledge of the girl’s family as well. He added he would look after his son after taking his custody.
The girl’s counsel, however, contended his client was raped by the man and the family would fight the case at every forum to get justice.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2017.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ