KARACHI, May 31: The Sindh High Court asked a police official on Tuesday to account for ‘each and every hour’ he kept a woman in his custody for 10 days prior to producing her before a city judicial magistrate in an adultery case under the Zina Ordinance.

In her petition, Ms Zubaida complained that she was married to Abdul Rashid at their village in Ahmedpur East, Bahawalpur, about three years ago. Her husband brought her to Karachi, though he had no ostensible means of livelihood. She had to work as a housemaid to eke out a living till her husband turned her out. She returned to their village and moved a suit for dissolution of marriage.

Her husband, meanwhile, got a case registered against her and three others under the Zina Ordinance. Sub-inspector Abdul Hameed Arbab of the Korangi police station was sent to bring her back to Karachi. She was handed over to the SI by D.G. Khan Darul Aman on March 19 for ‘investigations’ in Karachi.

The SI kept her in confinement at various places for 10 days and brought her to Karachi Darul Aman on March 29. She was harassed, abused and coerced into putting her thumb impressions on blank papers, the petitioner alleged. As the petition came up for hearing on Tuesday, the SI tried to explain away the delay by travel problems between D.G. Khan and Karachi and the weekly court closures.

He said he produced Zubaida at the earliest on their arrival in Karachi and obtained an order from a judicial magistrate for lodging her at Darul Aman for investigation and trial of the Zina case lodged by her husband.

A division bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Azizullah M. Memon ordered the SI to file another affidavit stating ‘each and every fact’ and accounting for ‘each and every hour’ he kept the petitioner in his custody. The hearing was adjourned to June 3.

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