ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed law-enforcement agencies to adopt a gender-sensitive approach while investigating domestic killings, stressing that the privacy of a marital home cannot be used to conceal crimes or protect offenders from justice.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakkar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the observations while rejecting a jail petition filed by Habib Ullah, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Aqeela Bibi, at their Karachi residence in September 2011.
The court refused leave to appeal and maintained the convict’s life imprisonment under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code. It also upheld an order directing him to pay Rs500,000 as compensation to the victim’s legal heirs.
In a judgment authored by Justice Kakkar, the bench described domestic violence and killings occurring within matrimonial homes as offences that can be particularly difficult to prove.
The court clarified that Pakistani law does not automatically presume a husband’s guilt in cases involving the death of a wife. However, it noted that Article 122 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order requires a person to explain facts that are especially within his knowledge.
The judgment said that when a woman dies an unnatural death inside her matrimonial home and the prosecution establishes circumstances pointing towards her husband, his inability to provide a credible explanation may constitute an important link in the circumstantial evidence against him.
At the same time, the bench emphasised that such an approach cannot override the presumption of innocence or the legal safeguards available to an accused.
The court noted that the accused had remained absconding for almost seven years.
It also criticised shortcomings in the police investigation, pointing out that investigators had recovered a bloodstained hammer and bedsheet but failed to produce either item before the trial court.
Describing the failure as a serious investigative lapse, the bench observed that inadequate handling of evidence makes it even more difficult to establish domestic homicide cases and can undermine the pursuit of justice.
The Supreme Court directed provincial governments to provide specialised training to police personnel so they can identify and address gender-based and patriarchal biases during investigations.
Law-enforcement agencies were also instructed to ensure proper collection and preservation of evidence and to take accountability measures against investigating officers whose negligence or lack of diligence compromises criminal investigations.
