In a recent ruling by a district and sessions court in Karachi, a significant judgment was made, where a man was sentenced to 80 lashes for his refusal to acknowledge paternity of his child and for falsely accusing his ex-wife of adultery.
Presiding over the case in Malir, Additional District and Sessions Judge Shehnaz Bohyo convicted Fareed Qadir under Section 7(1) of the Offence of Qazf (Enforcement Of Hadd) Ordinance, 1979, citing his act of disowning his legitimate child and leveling baseless accusations against his former spouse.
According to the provisions of the ordinance, “Whoever commits qazf liable to had shall be punished with whipping numbering eighty stripes.” The court also decreed that the convict’s testimony would become inadmissible in any court of law following the confirmation of the conviction by the Federal Shariat Court.
Moreover, the verdict outlined specific conditions for the convict’s bail status, stating that he would remain on bail on the condition that he agrees to appear for the execution of the whipping punishment at the specified time and place, after the confirmation of the conviction and sentence by the appellate court. Additionally, he was mandated to submit a bail bond amounting to Rs100,000.
However, the court stipulated that the implementation of the punishment should be deferred until a decision is reached on the convict’s appeal against the sentence.
In her plea, the convict’s former wife highlighted the lack of maintenance and reconciliation efforts on the part of her ex-husband following the birth of their daughter in December 2015.
