Court orders petitioner to stay away from his ex-fiance
Legal experts said that the case was un-Islamic, unethical and against the constitution.
KARACHI:
A man has filed a petition on the grounds of a letter written by his ex-fiance stating that she would commit suicide if she remained detained by her father any longer.
Aashiq* told the district and sessions court, Malir, that he had met Jameela* some years ago and that they had been together since. When he proposed, Jameela’s family reluctantly accepted it and a formal engagement took place.
“Jameela’s father, however, broke off the engagement without any reason,” Aashiq told the court. He added that he was prompted to file the petition because Jameela had written him letters saying that she would commit suicide if he didn’t do anything about the matter.
The court ordered an inquiry and called Jameela’s father and the area SHO to explain and appointed a lawyer to take down her statement.
According to Jameela’s statement, she had not been detained by her father and the application was dismissed as it contradicted everything Aashiq had stated. The court heard the case under section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Jameela’s lawyer, Amanullah Lashari, told The Express Tribune that the case should not have been taken up in the first place. “It was based on a ‘fabricated’ letter and was not maintainable,” he said.
He added that he was disheartened by the trial as no one had the right to challenge the dignity of a man.
Lashari felt that Aashiq’s lawyer, Ali Gohar Masroof, had struck a blow to the profession by taking up the case. “It’s not the job of a lawyer to take up a case just for money,” he said.
According to legal experts, the only grounds for ordering an inquiry in this case was to investigate the threats of suicide in the letter. The judge verbally warned Aashiq that if he harassed Jameela or her family at any point of time, he would be in placed in police custody.
*Names changed to protect privacy
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2012.
A man has filed a petition on the grounds of a letter written by his ex-fiance stating that she would commit suicide if she remained detained by her father any longer.
Aashiq* told the district and sessions court, Malir, that he had met Jameela* some years ago and that they had been together since. When he proposed, Jameela’s family reluctantly accepted it and a formal engagement took place.
“Jameela’s father, however, broke off the engagement without any reason,” Aashiq told the court. He added that he was prompted to file the petition because Jameela had written him letters saying that she would commit suicide if he didn’t do anything about the matter.
The court ordered an inquiry and called Jameela’s father and the area SHO to explain and appointed a lawyer to take down her statement.
According to Jameela’s statement, she had not been detained by her father and the application was dismissed as it contradicted everything Aashiq had stated. The court heard the case under section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Jameela’s lawyer, Amanullah Lashari, told The Express Tribune that the case should not have been taken up in the first place. “It was based on a ‘fabricated’ letter and was not maintainable,” he said.
He added that he was disheartened by the trial as no one had the right to challenge the dignity of a man.
Lashari felt that Aashiq’s lawyer, Ali Gohar Masroof, had struck a blow to the profession by taking up the case. “It’s not the job of a lawyer to take up a case just for money,” he said.
According to legal experts, the only grounds for ordering an inquiry in this case was to investigate the threats of suicide in the letter. The judge verbally warned Aashiq that if he harassed Jameela or her family at any point of time, he would be in placed in police custody.
*Names changed to protect privacy
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2012.