File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
An Additional District and Sessions Court on Monday cancelled the bail of a civil judge’s wife and directed police to take her into custody over allegations of her beating and torturing a 14-year-old girl that had been employed as a maid in their house until last month.
Civil Judge Asim Hafeez’s wife, Somia Asim, had earlier acquired interim bail from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to avoid arrest on the allegations of torture. Today, she appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge Farrukh Fareed with her legal team to secure an extension to her bail, arguing that she had already pleaded innocence before the joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the case.
During proceedings, the defense maintained that the police record of the case did not accuse Somia of subjecting Rizwana to torture. He claimed the child had been returned to her parents “safe and sound,” and urged the court to wait till the completion of the JIT’s inquiry before cancelling his client’s bail.
The prosecution, meanwhile, opposed the plea and requested the court to dispose of the bail. At this, both parties were directed to argue in favor or against the bail plea. During proceedings, the judge also directed the investigation officer to acquire a video mentioned by the defense lawyer, which was played in court and showed Somia accompanying Rizwana to a bus stop for travel back to her parents.
The defense argued that the video showed that Rizwana had been in good health when she was sent back to her parents, alleging further that the victim’s parents had beat their own child and were now attempting to lay the blame on the accused. “A fabricated story has been prepared against Somia Asim,” the lawyer claimed, adding a “media trial” of the suspect was underway even before the case had been brought up before court. He alleged that Somia had three witnesses who could testify they had seen the teenager in good health at her residence. “This entire drama against Somia Asim was scripted in Sargodha—where the victim hails from,” the lawyer alleged.
The prosecution, meanwhile, maintained it was necessary to recover the “object” that had been used to allegedly beat Rizwana to prove the charges against Somia. It argued that Somia’s arrest was required to recover said object. “There is no ground for the bail extension yet. There shouldn’t be any fear in finding the truth,” Judge Fareed said, while directing the prosecution to collect evidence honestly and without fear of pressure.
The court subsequently disposed of Somia’s bail and ordered her arrest. At this, the accused started to weep in court. “Take her [Somia] outside the courtroom,” the judge ordered as her crying continued. “This is difficult for me … the suspect is the wife of my colleague. But when it comes to justice, we have to ensure it,” he added. The suspect was then arrested upon her exit from court, with police to now present her before a duty magistrate to seek her physical remand for interrogation.
The case
Last month, the case of Rizwana’s alleged torture and brutal treatment made headlines after her parents shifted her to a hospital in Lahore with serious injuries. In various media appearances, they have accused the judge’s wife of torturing their daughter and not providing her necessary treatment, worsening her condition.
According to the girl’s medico-legal certificate (MLC), she had “laceration on head from vertex, on forehead, right side above eyebrow, swollen upper lips, laceration under upper lip on right side, broken left incisor and left canine, laceration on check, nose bleed, laceration on left side of vertex, multiple bruises on lower leg, fracture on right forearm, swollen left and right eyelids, bruise on right skull, laceration on back, multiple bruises on back and attempt on strangulation.”
Initially, police had resisted registering a first information report in the case, booking the judge’s wife for criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement, without mentioning any torture. However, eight more sections—including murder—were later added to the FIR amidst public pressure. Last month, the Lahore High Court granted protective bail to the judge’s wife till Aug. 1, which had been extended by a district and sessions court in Islamabad until Aug. 7.