LHC urges early decisions on sexual offence cases

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed all district courts that cases involving charges of sodomy should be decided expeditiously, preferably within six months. LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh observed, “Section 377A and 377B PPC are prone to misuse by unscrupulous persons. True, the child is to be protected against sexual abuse but at the same time the innocent people at the other end have also to be shielded against false accusations.”

The directions were passed in a judgment issued on Tuesday wherein the pre-arrest bail of a man accused of sodomy was dismissed.

Justice Tariq observed that the fate of a case depends on the evidence produced in the trial. The prosecution succeeds only if it’s witnesses stand the test of cross-examination and are found truthful and reliable. The trial court shall decide the instant case keeping this principle in view without being influenced with this order. The court declared that all the acts described in Section 377A are, without exception, considered to be criminal offences if the victim is less than 18 years old. This holds true regardless of the age of the accused and the consent of the victim. In the case, the petitioner is accused of fondling a boy.

Justice Tariq quoted a recent case wherein the Supreme Court of Pakistan looked at the concept of pre-arrest bail through the human rights lens and observed that it is rooted in the rights to liberty, dignity, due process and fair trial. It ruled that while deciding applications for pre-arrest bail, the courts should see whether there is sufficient incriminating material against the accused.“In the case before me there is plenty of such material against the petitioner,” the judge observed.

The deputy prosecutor general submitted that Sections 377A and 377B PPC aim to protect children against sexually explicit conduct.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2021.