Police officers walk past the Supreme Court of Pakistan building, in Islamabad, Pakistan April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court expressed concern over the increasing tragedies of sororicide (murder of a sister) in the society.
While upholding life imprisonment of a man who murdered his sister, the SC noted that sororicide is an unnatural breach of trust that reflects on the conscience of the community.
“Alarmingly, such tragedies are becoming increasingly visible in our society, destroying families and leaving society itself grappling with the loss of its most fundamental bonds,” said a five-page judgment written by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.
Justice Ibrahim was part of a division bench headed by Justice Muhammad Hasham Khan Kakar, which heard the appeal against an order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) which also upheld life imprisonment of the petitioner.
The petitioner’s sister had entered into a marriage of her choice. The petitioner disapproved of the marriage and murdered his sister approximately 16 to 17 years later.
The judgment says it is deeply regrettable that siblings, who have shared a bond of companionship, trust and mutual care since childhood, should act by betraying that bond.
The court said that when a brother takes the life of his sister – the very person he is supposed to protect, cherish and love – it transcends mere criminality and becomes a serious moral breakdown.
“Traditionally, caring for a brother for his sister is considered a sacred responsibility, and renouncing this duty strikes at the heart of family bonds and the moral fabric of society,” the order said.
The judgment noted that the complainant, as the husband of the deceased, knew the applicant, his wife’s brother, well; there therefore remains no conceivable doubt as to the identification of the attacker.
“The rapid appointment, coupled with close family familiarity, effectively excludes any possibility of mistaken identity.
“It is a well-established principle of criminal jurisprudence that substitution of the real culprit is a rare phenomenon, particularly in cases where an eyewitness witnessed the brutal murder of a close relative.
“In such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that the real offender would be allowed to escape while an innocent person is falsely implicated.
“The record is devoid of any material suggesting any ulterior motive or intention on the part of the complainant to falsely implicate him in the murder of the complainant’s wife, who was also the mother of his five children, thereby strengthening 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 the ocular and medical evidence leads this court to the irresistible conclusion that the conviction and sentence imposed on the petitioner are neither baseless nor tainted by any legal infirmity.
“Accordingly, the High Court has rightly convicted and sentenced the petitioner by the impugned judgment. The petition is accordingly dismissed, leave to appeal is refused and the sentences passed by the High Court are hereby upheld,” the SC said.
