Dua’s father vows to challenge medical report; Shehla Raza points out ‘several lapses’

claiming it was prepared by junior officer

A controversial medical certificate and impassionate representation made by state lawyers has, to the extent of Sindh High Court (SHC), sealed the fate of the legal battle launched by Syed Mehdi Ali Kazmi in early May this year against the alleged abduction and recovery of his teenage daughter Dua-e-Zehra.

Within four days of her recovery from Chishtian, Bahawalnagar, the SHC recorded Dua’s sworn statement, got her age determined by medical examination, vacated charges of abduction against her husband Zaheer and left it to her to decide with whom she wanted to go and live.

The last two hearings before the division bench comprising Justice Junaid Ghafar and Justice Amjad Sehto left Dua’s parents ‘heartbroken and yearning’ for a few minutes to speak to their daughter in hopes of persuading her to leave Zaheer and return to her family in Karachi.

And when, according to her parents, this moment did finally arrive and she ‘got ready to retract’ her on-oath statement, Dua was whisked away by police while the court refused to record her statement again.

Before and even after Dua’s recovery, on the basis of the official documents of her birth, registration with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and his own marriage certificate, her father was confident of having a favourable verdict from the high court.

However, when on June 6, she was produced in the court for the first time, Dua denied that she had been kidnapped. She also refused to meet her parents when the court asked her whether she wanted to have a meeting with her parents.

When the counsel for the petitioner insisted the court to pass an order to this effect for the authorities of Panah Shelter Home where she was kept till her medical examination was conducted, and after which she was again produced before the court, Justice Ghafar observed that the court could not pass an order when the alleged abductee was not ready to see her parents.

On June 6, before the judges’ sitting in the courtroom, police brought Dua to court amid tight security. When her mother tried to come close and hug her she was pushed away by police personnel. The parents again tried to talk to her in the courtroom before the arrival of the judges, however, they were ‘rudely’ refused by the police.

Before assembling the court, the judges’ staff sent all media personnel out of the courtroom.

When the case was finally taken up, Justice Ghafar inquired from the Advocate General (AG) Sindh Sulman Talibuddin why should the case be heard now when it had already been fixed for hearing on June 10 by the bench who earlier heard it.

The AG mentioned that a petition filed by Zaheer’s mother in the Lahore High Court seeking protection for the couple had also been fixed for hearing on June 10 and Dua was to be produced there also.

Dua was called to the witness box where she claimed her father lodged a false report of her kidnapping and she was 17/18 years old and wanted to go with her husband.

After her statement, the AG Sindh submitted that since the marriage of the abductee was solemnised outside Sindh and no FIR was registered under Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013, the Sindh government now had ‘nothing to do with the petition’ which had become infructuous after production of the alleged abductee.

However, Mehdi and his counsel insisted that Dua was born on April 27, 2008. In support of their assertion, they relied on official documents issued by NADRA.

Observing that after the statement of the abductee no case of abduction made out, the court before passing a final order directed the Investigation Officer (IO) to arrange for conducting medical examination of Dua to determine her age and produce her again on June 8.

On June 8, police produced Dua along with the medical certificate that mentioned her age between 16 and 17 years. The counsel for the petitioner apprised the court that his client had challenged the medical certificate and again referred to various documents showing Dua’s age as 14 years and two months.

The bench, however, disposed of the petition observing that under the constitutional jurisdiction, it could not assume the role of a trial court and either of the parties could approach the trial court on the dispute about facts.

The bench directed the IO to place sworn statements of the alleged abductee and the medical certificate before the trial court and submit challan of the case or a supplementary challan. The bench also declared the alleged abductee was at liberty to decide as to with whom she wanted to reside.

What experts say

According to Mehmood Alam Rizvi, a former judge of the SHC, practically the kidnapping case against Zaheer and other accused has been quashed. The bench has shown restraint in not declaring it quashed in its written orders and left it to the IO of the case to file a C class report in the trial court or submit a supplementary challan recommending to prosecute the accused for charges other than kidnapping.

Tariq Humza advocate told Bol News that the court had ended the kidnapping charges in its June 6 order and reaffirmed it on June 8 by making the June 6 order part of its final order. According to him, now proving charge of human trafficking would also be difficult.

Now the only option available with the parents is that they pursue the trial court on conducting fresh medical examination of the girl and if she is proved to be less than 16 years when the marriage was contracted, then they can initiate criminal proceeding under the Punjab child marriages restraint act which penalises contracting marriage with girls below the age of 16 years, explained Tariq. He added that criminal proceedings under the Sindh child marriages restraint act in Sindh cannot be initiated because the marriage was contracted in Punjab.

Medical certificate controversy

Soon after the medical report went viral, Dua’s father had made it clear that he would challenge the report. Before announcement of the court verdict, Sindh Minister for Women Development Shehla Raza while speaking to Bol News at the SHC premises pointed out ‘several lapses’ in the medical report. She further said that the report was ‘prepared by a junior medico-legal officer’ while it was signed by the police surgeon (PS) Karachi Dr Iftikhar Ahmed. She also pointed out that it went against the established protocols as no medical board was made or convened for conducting the medical examination. “The results were not analysed or considered by the medical board.”

On the same night, the PS Karachi was removed from his post and Dr Summaiya Syed was appointed the PS Karachi. Although no reason was provided by the Sindh chief secretary for removal of Dr Ahmed, ostensibly the alleged lapses in conducting medical examination of Dua was the cause of his ouster.

The newly appointed PS Karachi told anchors of a late night TV show that she would wait for the orders of the court whether it would be directed that the girl would be re-examined by following all the protocols and all the tests including bone tests to determine her actual age.