OM AR SIAL, J. A police party led by Muhammad Aslam Rajput was on patrol duty on 06.05.2023 when it received information that a young woman had committed suicide by drinking; pesticide.
When the police party reached the house identified by the spy informer, the dead body of the woman was found lying in the house of one Khamiso Shar however the police also saw signs of the woman having been strangulated to death. In spite of requests made by the police, the legal heirs of the deceased woman declined to register an FIR. The police in its discreet inquiries learnt that the young woman had been killed by her husband Ameer Ali Shar with the active connivance of the applicant and some other relatives of the husband. The murderers had then attempted to conceal the murder by making it look like a suicide. When Ameer Ali Shar, the husband, was questioned by the police regarding the murder, he revealed that his wife, the dead woman, had an illicit relationship with a man named Ghulam Mustafa and that he (Ameer Ali) first sent his wife to her brother's house and then proceeded to trace out Ghulam Mustafa and murder him. A separate FIR (No.08 of 2023) was registered against Ameer Ali for that murder. Ameer Ali further disclosed that he then returned home where he along with the applicant (who is said to be his nephew) and some others first told the young woman to consume pesticide herself and upon her declining to do so, she was strangled by all the men. In order to camouflage the murder, some pesticide was forcibly put in the woman's mouth. First Information Report No.26 of 2023 was registered under sections 302, 311, 201 and 34 P.P.C against, inter alia, the applicant. All relatives of both Ghulam Mustafa and the murdered woman declined to register an FIR or cooperate with the police in any manner; hence, the FIR was registered by A.S.I. Mohammad Aslam Rajput on behalf of the State.
2. The applicant sought post-arrest bail before the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Mirpurkhas, however the same was dismissed on 24.07.2023. He has now approached this court.
3. I have heard the learned counsel for the applicant as well as the learned Additional Prosecutor General. Learned counsel has argued that there is not a shred of evidence against the applicant and that he has been nominated in this case on a statement made by Ameer Ali. Counsel however has not explained as to what mala fide Ameer Ali had in naming the applicant as one of the persons who had facilitated him. Learned Additional Prosecutor General on the other hand has vehemently opposed the ground of bail on the ground that this is a case of honor killing. My observations and findings are as follows.
4. Upon a tentative assessm ent, this appears to be a case of a classic honour killing. A woman and her alleged lover have both been murdered and none from either side is willing to register a case or cooperate with the police. On the contrary, they argue that the woman committed suicide. This is not the first case this court has come across where a similar modus operandi is adopted by the perpetrators. Death is not reported and then when foul play in the death is discovered, nobody from both sides is willing to be witness. As a consequence, due to legal technicalities, the perpetrators go scot-free on account of lack of evidence. The evil of honor killings therefore continues unabated. It is easy to criticize the police by saying that a proper investigation was not done, however, one can fully understand the frustration of the police when evidence is demolished by members of the deceased's own family, the police are not informed of the death and nobody is willing to record a statement.
5. The applicant recorded a section 161 Cr.P.C. statement on 16.05.2023 in which he detailed how the 02 murders occurred. The record reflects that the investigation officer of the case had taken the applicant before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Mirpurkhas on 20.05.2023 for the applicant to record a confession. Before the Magistrate, however, the applicant denied any involvement with the offence but did say that Ameer Ali had brought the dead body of his wife to their house and told him that he had murdered both, his wife and her alleged lover. The applicant's connivance is reflected by the mere fact that in spite of being aware of the two murders, he remained silent and thus played an active role in concealing the murders. He failed to record any statement in the case until such time as Ameer Ali was arrested for the murder of Ghulam Mustafa and disclosed the applicant's involvement in the crime.
6. The medical reports issued in this case very clearly show that the death of the woman was not due to drinking pesticide but perhaps an unnatural death. A ligature mark was obvious on her neck and she also had a lacerated wound on her head. While the post-mortem report concludes with the opinion that the woman died due to cardio-respiratory failure due to hanging, it will have to be seen at trial after evidence has been led to whether death occurred due to hanging or strangulation. At the moment, one thing is clear; the woman did not die due to consuming pesticide, as her family members had initially told the police. It has also been brought to my attention that all the accused are related to the deceased woman or Ameer Ali and live in the same house or in close proximity. All the family members, including the applicant, remaining silent and pleading ignorance about the circumstances of her death, is simply not possible. It casts doubt on their credibility and motives and lends credence to the prosecution case.
7. The judiciary can play a crucial role in eliminating honour killings by ensuring that existing laws against honour killings are rigorously enforced, with no leniency or impunity for perpetrators. Strict enforcement would contribute significantly to the eradication of honour killings and the promotion of justice and gender equality. However, this remains a complex and persistent problem that requires ongoing efforts to change societal attitudes and protect vulnerable individuals. The Government of Pakistan on its part, in the year 2016, enacted the Anti-Honor Killing (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, which closed legal loopholes that allowed perpetrators to escape punishment by seeking forgiveness from the victim's family. Amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code were introduced to tighten the legal framework and increase penalties for honour killings in Pakistan.
8. I am aware that the evidence in the case is weak if one treats a case of honour killing on the same pedestal as other crimes. Perhaps, the applicant would have made out a case for a grant of bail in a crime of a different nature however, in my humble view, cases of honour killings are a category which requires to be adjudicated with a different yardstick. I have therefore shown less leniency in the present case while deciding this bail application as I am of the opinion that there is circumstantial evidence against the applicant, albeit weak, yet sufficient to deny him bail.
9. The bail application stands dismissed. Keeping in view the nature of the case and the fact that no injustice should also be done to the applicant, it would be appropriate to make an exception and direct the learned trial court to make all-out efforts to conclude the trial of this case within a period of 90 days even if it entails hearing the case on a daily basis.