Activists demand arrest of judge charged with rape

Point out that judge is not cooperating with police, refusing to provide DNA samples for testing

HYDERABAD: As the civil judge charged with rape continues to evade arrest despite his reported lack of cooperation with the police, civil society representatives have demanded the cancellation of his bail.

At a press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club on Monday, the Sindh Human Rights Defenders (SHRD) also sought protection for the alleged rape victim, S*, who they claimed had gone into hiding.

"We have been trying to contact S to offer our legal aid, but she has gone into hiding," said SHRD convener Ali Palh, who is a practising lawyer.

S appeared before civil judge and judicial magistrate Imtiaz Hussain Bhutto in his chamber to record her statement regarding her free-will marriage on January 13. However, the judge allegedly raped her there.

Palh lamented that Bhutto, who is now suspended, continued to be free on bail even though he is neither cooperating with the investigating police nor providing DNA samples for testing. "It is a strange case that he is demanding that his DNA test should be done by a laboratory in the United States while all other accused persons in similar cases are referred to local facilities," he observed.

He contended that Bhutto's bail could be rejected on the grounds of his non-cooperation and his evasion in appearing before the court. "These grounds are sufficient to cancel bail of any accused person," he claimed.

He further argued that the fact that bail cancellation had not yet been considered raised questions about the trial's fairness, the rule of law and the court's image, adding that it not only violated Article 25 of the Constitution but also the Supreme Court's orders in various cases.

On February 14, the Jamshoro district and session court gave Bhutto seven days to provide his blood samples for testing. At the next hearing, Bhutto requested the court to allow his tests to be done in a US laboratory, but the plea was not granted.

The investigation team also objected, insisting that the test be done at a government-authorised laboratory in Pakistan. They also requested the court to cancel Bhutto's bail so that he could be arrested for interrogation.

On February 22, the court transferred the decision on the DNA testing issue to a lower court.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2020.