KARACHI, June 28: Karo-kari killings are violative not only of law but also of religious injunctions as private individuals cannot be allowed to administer what they regard as justice, Justice Mohammad Sadiq Leghari of the Sindh High Court held in a recent judgment.

Since karo-kari enjoys the sanction of a deep-rooted tradition and few pick up courage to testify against the accused, the ordinary standards of proof required in criminal cases should not be insisted upon, he observed.

In the larger interest of the country and of the public at large, the approach of the judiciary should be dynamic. The evidence generally available in ordinary criminal cases could not be expected in the karo-kari offences.

Dismissing an appeal by a convict jailed for life by a Sehwan sessions court for double murder in a karo-kari case, Justice Leghari said conviction could be based on his retracted judicial confession alone.

According to the prosecution, convict Haji Jatoi of Khairo Deiro suspected his maternal cousin Ms Moomal of having an affair with tractor driver Imam Bux Penhwar, who used to stay at the Autaq of Dhani Bux Jatoi. He caught the two at the Autaq at 2 am on Dec 6, 1992, and killed both with hatchet blows.

The culprit informed Moomal’s father and other villagers of the double murder and then surrendered himself to the SHO of the Khairo Deiro police station at 5am. The SHO became the complainant in the case as no relative of the victims was prepared to lodge a complaint. The accused recorded his confessional statement to a judicial magistrate during investigation 13 days after committing the offence.

Dealing with the contentions raised by the appellant’s counsel, including the absence of eye-witnesses or corroborative evidence, Justice Leghari noted that “the facts discovered as a result of Haji Jatoi’s statement to the police were the scene of incident and the dead bodies lying there”. The post-mortem report confirmed his version of the incident.

The most material evidence against the appellant, he said, was his judicial confession, which he retracted at the trial. It was recorded 13 days after his arrest but the delay did not affect its evidentiary value. No time limit was prescribed for judicial confessions. It was only their voluntary character and truthfulness which were to be taken into consideration. Haji Jatoi’s confession was fully corroborated by the post-mortem report.

Strong and sufficient evidence, the judge noted, was available in the present case. Otherwise in karo kari cases, it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to establish the guilt of assailants or killers.

“There are instances wherein a girl is killed by her father or a woman is killed by her son as kari but other relatives of the victims do not consider it proper to lodge a complaint or appear as witnesses”, the judge said.