Police officers walk past Pakistan’s Supreme Court building, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court expressed concern over the rise in tragedies of sororicide (sister murder) in the society.
Although he confirmed the life sentence of a man who murdered his sister, the CS pointed out that sororicide is an unnatural abuse of trust that impacts the conscience of the community.
“Alarmingly, these types of tragedies are becoming increasingly visible in our society, tearing families apart and leaving society itself grappling with the loss of its most fundamental bonds,” he said in a five-page ruling written by Judge Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
Justice Ibrahim was part of a division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Hasham Khan Kakar, which heard the appeal against a Lahore High Court (LHC) order that also upheld the petitioner’s life sentence.
The petitioner’s sister had married by her own choice. The petitioner disapproved of the marriage and murdered his sister approximately 16 or 17 years later.
The ruling said that it is deeply unfortunate that brothers, who share a bond of companionship, trust and mutual care since childhood, act in betrayal of this bond.
The court said that when a brother takes the life of his sister (the very person he is expected to protect, cherish and love) it transcends mere criminality and becomes a grave moral breach.
“Traditionally, a brother’s care for his sister has been considered a sacred responsibility, and abandoning this duty strikes at the heart of family ties and the moral fabric of society,” the order says.
The ruling noted that the plaintiff, as the husband of the deceased, knew the petitioner, his wife’s brother, well; therefore, there remains no conceivable doubt regarding the identification of the assailant.
“The prompt nomination, coupled with close family familiarity, effectively rules out any possibility of mistaken identity.
“It is an established principle in criminal jurisprudence that the substitution of the true culprit is a rare phenomenon, particularly in cases where an eyewitness has witnessed the brutal murder of a close relative.
“In such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that the real criminal would be allowed to escape while an innocent person is falsely implicated.
“The record is devoid of any material suggesting ulterior motives or animosity on the part of the plaintiff to falsely implicate the petitioner in the murder of the plaintiff’s wife, who was also the mother of his five children, thus reinforcing the veracity of the prosecution’s case,” he added.
The court further observed that the couple had lived together for almost two decades without any untoward incident, making the suggested grudge implausible.
“The confluence of ocular and medical evidence leads this court to the irresistible conclusion that the conviction and sentence imposed on the petitioner are neither unfounded nor tainted with any legal deficiency.
“Consequently, the High Court of Justice has correctly convicted and sentenced the petitioner through the impugned judgment. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed, the appeal is rejected and the sentences handed down by the High Court of Justice are upheld,” the SC stated.
