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| December 2, 2005 | Friday | Shawwal 29, 1426 |
Production of unwed mother, accused in court ordered
ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: The Supreme Court Thursday ordered an unwed mother, her child and former naib nazim of Okara Abbas Raza Rizvi to submit to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test to settle whether Mr Rizvi had fathered the child. Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Hamid Ali Mirza issued the order while hearing the complaint of Shahnaz Fatima, elder sister of Mehnaz, that Mr Rizvi was the father.
“To find out the truth, it is proper and expedient to order DNA test of the minor, unwed mother Mehnaz Fatima and former naib nazim Abbas Raza Rizvi,” said the two-member bench.
It asked Deputy Police Officer (DPO) Okara Malik Tahir Mehmood to ensure that the three report to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) Rawalpindi for DNA testing and submit the results before the court.
Senator Dr Khalid Ranjha, representing the ex-naib nazim, cited an earlier apex court order where it was held that nobody could be compelled for a DNA text.
But Justice Bhagwandas observed that “it (DNA test) will help to exonerate the person from the charges if he has a clear conscience”.
When Dr Ranjha persisted that “this will open flood gates”, the learned judge calmed him down. “Don’t worry about the flood gates as we will stall it by exercising our jurisdiction,” he said, reminding the former law minister that it was a serious case.
Justice Bhagwandas said the court could not shut its eyes and close the chapter by asking the complainant to approach the police when she was pleading that both the police and the lower courts were not listening to her.
The next hearing was set for December 27.
In Thursday’s hearing, Mehnaz Fatima recorded her statement. She told the court in choked voice that the ex-naib nazim had induced her to a mutaa marriage on the promise that he will marry her lawfully later.
However he betrayed her confidence when she conceived his child and asked her to abort the pregnancy, she alleged.
Later the accused arranged a set up by asking his employee Abdul Ghafoor to verbally marry the girl and divorce her after few months. “I was also threatened of dire consequences to obtain a forced signature on a blank paper to forge into a statement,” she alleged adding that since she belonged to a poor family therefore she had no choice but to sign the paper.
Shahnaz in her application had accused the ex-naib nazim of having illicit relationship and committing rape with her younger sister, then a student of Class 9.
On Thursday, senior lawyer Naeem Bokhari appeared before the court and informed that he was willing to represent Mehnaz Fatima as he had seen her weeping outside the court room.
Earlier the court also decline to hear the counsel of Abdul Ghafoor who was pleading that cases of parenthood and guardianship was exclusive domain of family courts where an application had also been filed by him.
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