LAHORE: A model criminal court for minor offences has sentenced a man to imprisonment for domestic violence and physical assault on his wife and adopted daughter.

Chuhng police had registered a first information report (FIR) on a complaint by Ms Shabana Kausar on Sept 21, 2024.

According to the complainant, her husband, Maqsood Ali, had a history of habitually subjecting her and their daughter to physical abuse.

The incident that led to the FIR occurred on Sept 13, 2024, when the accused allegedly assaulted the complainant and attempted to attack her with a stick, forcing her to flee to a neighbour’s house and contact the emergency rescue helpline.

The defence lawyer took a plea that no such occurrence had taken place and alleged that, since the couple had no biological children and the accused intended to contract a second marriage, the complainant had fabricated the entire story to prevent him from doing so.

The defence also relied upon alleged improvements and contradictions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses, as well as the absence of independent witnesses.

However, referring to a settled principle, Judicial Magistrate Hamidul Rehman Nasir, observed that members of the public generally refrain from becoming witnesses to avoid unnecessary animosity.

He noted that this fact was also corroborated by the investigating officer’s testimony that the neighbours refused to join the investigation.

The magistrate also relied upon a recent judgment passed by the Supreme Court, recognising domestic violence as a “bedroom crime” ordinarily committed within the privacy of the home.

He said the absence of independent witnesses was a natural consequence of the place of occurrence rather than a weakness in the prosecution case.

Initially, the accused was charged under Section 354 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which pertains to the assault or use of criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty.

However, after a review of the testimonies and evidence presented before the court - including the statements of the complainant, the victim and the investigative officers - the court reached a nuanced conclusion.

The magistrate noted that the prosecution failed to establish the specific ingredients required for a conviction under Section 354.

However, he said, the evidence successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had physically assaulted both victims without any grave or sudden provocation.

The judge observed that the defence’s arguments regarding the delay in lodging the FIR and alleged contradictions in testimonies were insufficient to discredit the core narrative of the abuse.

The judge found the accused guilty of offences under Section 352 of the PPC.

The judge awarded three months of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs15,000 to the accused for assault on the wife/complainant.

In default of payment, the convict must undergo an additional five days of simple imprisonment.

For the assault on the adopted daughter, the convict was awarded a separate three months of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs15,000.

In default of payment, the convict must undergo an additional five days of simple imprisonment.

The judge ordered that both sentences would run concurrently.

Following the pronouncement of the judgment on July 6, the convict was taken into custody by court officials and remanded to district jail Lahore to serve his sentence.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026