KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced a man who threw acid on his wife to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Additional district and Sessions Judge (East) Muhammad Ilyas Memon of the gender-based court, convicted Kausar Abbas for throwing acid on his wife Saima, who had suffered 31 per cent burn injuries on her body.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs1 million and directed that the amount be given to the complainant in compensation, otherwise, the convict would undergo an additional six-month imprisonment on default.

“The accused being addicted led to his wife’s relocation to her parental house and his subsequent suspicion of her extramarital affair (as evident from the charge sheet), is the apparent root cause of his aggression, which steered him to commit this offence,” the court observed.

According to state prosecutor Kubra Syed, complainant Saima stated in her statement recorded at the hospital that her husband was addicted to narcotics and would often ask her for money to buy drugs.

Due to his behaviour, she left their home and stayed with her brother. On March 19, 2021, her husband came to the house and demanded more money to buy narcotics. However, when the complainant refused, he threatened her and threw a bottle of acid on her, causing her burn injuries.

A neighbour took her to hospital upon hearing her cries.

On the other hand, the defence argued that the complainant had falsely accused their client, with the support of her mother, brother, and the police.

However, the court noted that the FIR was registered as the police approached her in a hospital following the incident, and she accused her husband, adding that therefore, there was no time for her to consult with police and falsely implicate her husband.

The court observed that the victim presented her evidence naturally and remained consistent during cross-examination, adding that the court found her testimony to be trustworthy and reliable.

Regarding the victim’s clothing, which was not secured by the police as evidence, the court noted that this suggests fault on the part of the investigating officer, who failed to secure the clothing. This cannot be attributed to the victim or anyone else, as they are not legal experts.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024