Judge raises questions on conduct of ‘harassed couple’

Additional District and Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani has raised serious questions on the conduct of the affected couple who had been harassed and sexually assaulted in Islamabad.

In its 44-page detailed judgment, the court has maintained that the judiciary cannot just sit as a spectator as it is considered as the protector of the whole society.

“It is the responsibility of the court to decide on the basis of facts rather than on technicalities, the court said in its order,” maintaining that it is clearly evident that the affected boy and girl retracted from their statement due to pressure, fear or coercion or after obtaining financial advantage from the accused.

“There is no doubt that the boy and the girl had a legal moral obligation to abide by the statement given before the magistrate, but despite support from the media and the society, they backed from their positions” the court order stated, adding that the victim girl Sundus confessed to appearing before the assistant commissioner, while the victim boy Asad admitted during interrogation that he knew about the incident and identified himself in the video wearing a dark grey shirt and Sundus wearing a white sweater.

Asad had also admitted that the accused in the video was forcing them for sexual misconduct, the verdict said.

The court in its verdict also maintained that the incident was not a crime against any individual but against society.

“That the affected boy and girl deviated from the statement is another matter, but the prosecution's case is established on digital evidence,” it said.

The judgment said that video and audio were examined by Punjab Forensic Science Agency and FIA. According to the FIA report, more than 100,000 people had watched the videos in Pakistan and around the world.

“The prosecution has proved the case against the five accused. However, the allegations under the provisions extortion and gang rape were not substantiated,” the verdict said adding that Usman Mirza, Qayyum Butt, Mohib Bangash, Hafiz Ata-ur-Rehman and Farhan Shaheen have been sentenced to life imprisonment and all the accused were also fined Rs200,000 each. Two accused Omar Bilal Marwat and Rehan Hussain are acquitted, it said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2022.