Child torture case: Judge, wife were charged with ‘wilful assault’

Court set to resume trial next week with new judge at the helm

ISLAMABAD: With the Islamabad High Court set to resume the trial of an additional district and sessions judge and his wife next week, documents have revealed that the duo had been charged for allegedly assaulting, confining, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning, harming and injuring a minor housemaid.

The suspects, Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Khurram and his wife Maheen Zafar, have pleaded ‘not guilty’ after they were indicted and are currently standing trial. As per a charge sheet filed against them, which surfaced on Saturday, the suspects are facing a total of six charges.



The first charge accuses them of wrongfully confining a minor housemaid in their house who was recovered by the police – hence the couple had allegedly committed a crime which is punishable under section 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). It carries a term of up to 12 months and or a fine of up to Rs3,000.

The second charge was against Zafar, accusing her of causing burn injuries to the 10-year-old girl and thus committed an offence punishable under section 337-A (i) (punishment of shajjah) of PPC.

Maheen Zafar caused injuries contact burn healed wounds on right arm, right wrist and right hand on left mid arm over deltoid area, dorsum of left index finger extended up to MP joint of left hand, left little finger and left lower arm, right thigh and right buttock, the third charge read, to the minor making it punishable under section 337-F (i) of PPC, with up to two years in prison.

Moreover, the charge sheet further stated that Zafar had threatened the girl with dire consequences should she disclose her maltreatment to anyone. Thus she was charged with committing an offence under section 506(ii) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of PPC which carries a prison term of up to seven years.



The fifth charge, against both Judge Khan and Zafar, read “willfully assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned, harmed and injured minor” which is punishable under section 328-A of PPC, with a punishment of up to seven years in prison.

The sixth charge levelled against Judge Khan was for causing the minor girl to disappear in order to screen the co-accused, Zafar, from the legal consequences. The offence is punishable under section 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of PPC.

On May 23, the minor girl had recorded her statement before the IHC against the suspects at whose house she had suffered injuries. On May 24, she was cross-examined and could not answer several questions, including what is swearing, an oath, characteristics of a city, name of the country she was living in, the difference between years and months and where did she live before coming to Islamabad.

New judge at helm

The chief justice of the IHC has placed the case before Justice Aamer Farooq to resume hearings after Justice Kayani recused himself from future hearings, having found the accused guilty in a separate inquiry.

Justice Kayani had recused himself from the case after one of the counsels for the suspect objected over the judge simultaneously conducting a trial and an inquiry.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2017.