SHC orders FIR against persons who held jirga to settle freewill marriage case

Taking exception to holding of a jirga to settle a freewill marriage case, in which the groom’s family was ordered to exchange a girl as Wani with the imposition of a fine of Rs1.5 million, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the SSP to register a case against the persons who conducted the Jirga and bring them to justice without fail.

The direction came on a petition of Sania Zehra and Atif Ali who sought protection against harassment and quashing of a criminal case against them.

The petitioners submitted that they had married of their own freewill but the family of Sania had registered a false kidnapping case against the husband and his family members at the Malir Cantonment police station.

They also submitted that a jirga was also held over the issue by Raees Qurban Ali Magsi, which imposed a Rs1.5 million fine on Atif’s family and ordered them to give a girl from their side in lieu of the marriage of the petitioners.

The respondents’ counsel submitted that they had settled the dispute outside the court and sought disposal of the petition.

A counsel for the petitioners, however, submitted that they had been forced to accept the Jirga decision and sought quashing of the criminal proceedings.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon after hearing the arguments of the counsel observed that the petitioner Sania had recorded her statement before the police mentioning that she had married of her own freewill and she was not abducted by anyone.

The SHC observed that the Supreme Court had declared holding of such jirga illegal citing violation of international human rights and the constitution of Pakistan. The high court observed that the Supreme Court’s judgment was also a significant step towards upholding women’s rights and ensuring that justice was administered through legal channels.

The high court observed that it was crucial to continue to monitor the implementation of the decision and to address the social and cultural factors that contributed to the persistence of harmful practices.

The SHC observed that an FIR could be lodged against all those persons who held the jirga in violation of the law and the Supreme Court orders but despite the same local authorities had taken no action in this regard.

The bench observed that the law enforcement agencies were obligated to take action against those who organised or participated in such jirgas and ordered the SSP concerned to register a case against the persons involved in holding of the jirga and bring them to justice.

The high court also quashed the criminal proceedings against the petitioners pending before the Malir Cantonment police station and directed the investigation officer to submit a progress report before the magistrate concerned.

The SHC also directed the judicial magistrate to take action against all police officials concerned who failed and neglected to perform their duties to curb this menace.