LAHORE: Multan police have lodged a case against a man for allegedly subjecting his wife to sexual violence, causing her severe internal injuries and committing other brutalities against her.
The First Information Report (FIR ) was registered on the victim’s complaint by Qutabpur police under multiple charges, in consultation with legal experts.
The victim stated in the FIR that the suspect committed many brutal acts, including sodomy, despite being informed by her that “this was not only a crime under the state laws but also un-Islamic”.
However, she said, he blatantly ignored her requests and committed sodomy against her consent. She termed it a “matrimonial offence” liable to be punished strictly under the law.
She alleged that her husband breached all ‘moral limits’ and caused severe ‘physical harm’ to her lower body, besides committing sodomy.
She told the police that during heated arguments with her over the issue, her husband claimed that sodomy was normal for married couples.
She said that while she was being subjected to brutality by her husband, she cried for help, and was rescued by her two relatives.
A senior police officer said it is a rare case filed by a married woman against her husband, adding that some of the allegations against the suspect were indescribable.
He said that many states had anti-sodomy laws in place, although their terms were often vague and they rarely stated in clear terms what the law prohibited.
The officer said the Multan police engaged legal experts given the seriousness of the allegations levelled by the victim and, after consulting them, finally decided to lodge a criminal case against the suspect.
He said the police invoked section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that outlines the punishment for rape, which is death penalty or imprisonment for minimum 10 years and a maximum 25 years, along with a fine.
He said that the legal experts also recommended section 337F(iii) of the PPC, which pertains to injuries where the skin is not ruptured or the flesh incised, but rather lacerated.
The basic punishment for such an injury is “Daman” (financial compensation), and imprisonment is discretionary, he said.
Moreover, keeping in view the scale of the criminal acts committed by the suspect, the police also added section 337(2) of the PPC that addresses “Shajjah,” which refers to hurt on the head or face, he added.
The victim also told police before her medical examination that she has suffered deep injuries to the lower parts of her body.
“We are taking the matter as a test case with the prime objective of setting an example for others so that men respect their partners in marital relations,” the police officer said.
Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025
