The Supreme Court has called for stronger and gender-sensitive investigations into domestic homicides and crimes against women.
The court stressed that the privacy of a matrimonial home cannot protect perpetrators from accountability. It made the observations while upholding the conviction of a man for murdering his wife.
SC Upholds Life Sentence in Wife’s Murder Case
A two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakkar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim dismissed Habib Ullah’s jail petition.
The case involved the murder of his wife, Aqeela Bibi, inside their Karachi home in September 2011.
The court refused leave to appeal and upheld his life imprisonment under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
It also maintained the order requiring Rs500,000 compensation for the deceased woman’s legal heirs.
In its judgment, authored by Justice Kakkar, the Supreme Court described domestic violence involving a wife’s murder as a “crime of difficult proof”.
Husband’s Explanation Can Become Key Evidence
The court clarified that Pakistani law does not automatically presume a husband guilty in matrimonial homicide cases.
However, Article 122 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order places responsibility on a person to explain facts especially within their knowledge.
Therefore, an unnatural death inside a matrimonial home can require closer scrutiny when evidence points toward the husband.
The court said that once the prosecution establishes foundational circumstances, the husband’s failure to offer a plausible explanation can become significant.
Such circumstances may then form an important link within the broader chain of circumstantial evidence.
At the same time, the bench stressed that accused persons retain the presumption of innocence and other legal safeguards.
Nearly Seven Years Spent Absconding
The court also noted that the petitioner remained absconding for nearly seven years.
Meanwhile, the bench raised serious concerns about the police investigation into the murder.
Investigators had recovered a blood-stained hammer and bedsheet during the investigation. However, neither item was presented before the trial court.
The Supreme Court described the failure as a “serious lapse”.
SC Calls for Better Police Training
The bench observed that domestic homicides are already difficult to establish through evidence.
Consequently, negligent investigations can make the pursuit of justice even more difficult.
The Supreme Court directed provincial governments to provide appropriate training for police officers handling such cases.
The training should help officers recognise and overcome gender and patriarchal biases during investigations.
The court also called on law-enforcement agencies to adopt genuinely gender-sensitive investigative practices.
These practices should include properly identifying and preserving evidence while ensuring accountability for investigative negligence.
The ruling therefore places greater emphasis on careful investigation of crimes occurring within private homes, where evidence can be particularly difficult to establish.
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