Women exercising lawful rights should not be subjected to violence with impunity: SC

The Supreme Court of Pakistan refused to hear the appeal of Wasim Abbas, who murdered his estranged wife, Shehnaz Bibi, within two days of her filing a judicial decree for annulment of their marriage.

A three-judge bench, presided over by Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar, affirmed the conviction and death sentence of Wasim and emphasized that women should exercise their legal rights free from any threat of violence.

According to the charge sheet of the prosecutor, Wasim entered a house in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 11, 2020, brandishing a .30-bore pistol along with two unknown individuals. The accused assaulted his wife and fired bullets against her several times, inflicting six wounds caused by the gun. She died at the spot.

The Court observed that the killing took place after 48 hours of issuance of the ex parte decree in her favour.

While issuing the judgement, Justice Kakar opined that Shehnaz availed her lawful rights guaranteed under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, and the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961.

The court, while making reference to the provisions of the constitution of Pakistan including Articles 9, 14 and 25, pointed out that violence against a woman in order to stop her from availing her legal remedy violates the principles of life, dignity and equality.

The court, in this case, cited the precedent of the Shazia Perveen case decided in 2019, in which the right of a woman to file a petition for judicial decree to annul the marriage is accepted.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan held that the eyewitnesses' account was credible and corroborated by forensic, ballistic and medical evidence, including the recovery of the murder weapon. It noted that the murder was committed in the most brutal manner, premeditated and in the sanctity of her residence. The bench observed that there was nothing which could be construed as a mitigating circumstance, hence the death sentence was justified.