A worst crime

In an important verdict, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, presiding over a three member bench of the SC, refused to acquit a man whose lawyer told the bench that the young woman over whose face he had thrown acid had forgiven him. The defendant argued there was therefore no need for punishment. This is not an uncommon occurrence in our country, where power of various kinds, whether from money, influence or fear, can result in victims opting to settle the matter. The possibility of compounding a crime by handing over money to the victim’s family, in for example a murder case and most often a case of ‘honour’ killing, demonstrates the dangers of permitting such benevolence on the part of victims of heinous crime.

The CJP pointed out that hurling acid on the face of a person was a crime worse than murder, as it literally amounted to burning someone alive. The bench, while refusing to acquit the accused, also said the matter would now be treated as a crime against the state rather than against a person. This is important. In many countries, in fact most countries, murder is treated as a crime against society and the state rather than a particular person. The issue of paying the heirs of the victim diyat of any kind thus does not come into the matter. We all know how the diyat provision in our laws has been misused over and over again, most notably when ‘honour’ crimes are committed within a household.

The SC has set an important precedent, which we hope can be followed in other cases. It is imperative that the role of power be removed from the issue of justice. Every individual deserves justice. As the bench pointed out, it is too easy to deny a victim this by threatening her or harassing her family. Sadly, too often the issue of crimes committed against state and the possibility of pressure being exerted against the victim are ignored by lower courts. This happened in the case of Khadija Siddiqui, stabbed multiple times by a classmate, who was acquitted. Only when the law student took her case to a high court was it resolved in her favour. It will be excellent news for the more vulnerable victims for crime, especially women, if violence committed against them could be treated as an act against the state. This would alter a great deal within our justice system and possibly take us a long way down the road towards true justice.