Women exercising lawful rights should not be subjected to violence with impunity: SC
While rejecting an appeal by a convict who murdered his former wife just two days after she obtained a judicial decree dissolving their marriage, the Supreme Court on Saturday ruled that women who exercise their lawful rights should not be subjected to violence with impunity. “This court, being mindful of the constitutional imperative to protect the life and dignity of women and to ensure that…
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that women exercising their lawful rights should not be subjected to violence with impunity, following the rejection of an appeal against the conviction of a man who murdered his ex-wife just days after she obtained a divorce decree.
In the case, Wasim Abbas murdered Irshad Begum at her home in Lahore on October 11, 2020, after she had been granted a swift ex parte divorce on October 9, 2020. The court emphasized the constitutional imperative to protect women's life and dignity under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution.
Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, writing for the three-judge bench, cited the 2019 Shazia Perveen case to underscore that seeking legal dissolution of marriage is a fundamental right. The court noted that the motive was deep resentment from the deceased's successful divorce suit, and the brutal premeditated murder occurred just 48 hours after the legal decree.
The court found evidence provided by the deceased's family members to be reliable, and corroborated by ballistic, medical and recovery of the murder weapon. The court rejected any mitigating circumstances, finding the offence exceptionally brutal and cold-blooded. The bench ruled that the capital punishment was fully justified to uphold the rule of law and satisfy justice.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
