News Desk |
On Thursday, Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected the plea of convicted Shah Hussain to reconsider his five-year imprisonment in Khadija Siddiqui’s stabbing case. Session court awarded five-year imprisonment to Shah Hussain on 23rd January for stabbing fellow student Khadija Siddiqui 23 times.
Shah Hussain attempted to kill to Khadija Siddiqui stabbed her 23 times on May 3, 2016, near Lahore’s Shimla Hill, where she along with a driver had gone to pick up her younger sister from school. Khadija now has completed her Bar-at-Law at the City Law School, City University, London.
A three-judge bench under Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa rejected the petition and upheld Shah’s five-year sentence. Shah Hussain’s counsel Shah Khawar argued that the girl named his client after five days and that she might have taken his name deliberately in the case.
A judgment of acquittal suffering from serious misreading or non-reading of the evidence materially affecting the final outcome of the case is nothing short of being perverse and, hence, not immune from interference.
Shah Khawar further asserted that it wasn’t possible that the driver and the younger girl did not recognize the attacker but Khadija Siddiqui did. Moreover, the counsel argued that there is a difference between the cases of murder and attempt to murder.
“Even a single injury mounts to attempt of murder, and that the one who came with the intent to kill harms his opponent before assaulting”, remarked Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
Supreme Court Served Justice to Khadija Siddiqui
Earlier, Chief Justice had lamented the Lahore Court’s decision to overturn his five-year imprisonment in the case citing the failure to demonstrate essential care and insufficient comprehension of proofs of record in the case.
Chief Justice Khosa had highlighted the downright misreading of the evidence by the LHC by ignoring many critical aspects of the case available in the evidence in a decision released earlier this year.
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‘‘A judgment of acquittal suffering from serious misreading or non-reading of the evidence materially affecting the final outcome of the case is nothing short of being perverse and, hence, not immune from interference,” the verdict had contended.
The social mediascape of Pakistan immensely appreciated the apex court’s decision on Khadija Siddiqui stabbing case. The law student Khadija Siddiqui had knocked the doors of Supreme Court of Pakistan after Lahore High Court acquitted the accused Shah Hussain in 2018.
Siddiqui challenged the decision in Supreme Court, while the higher court accepting her plea overturned the decision of Hussain Shah’s acquittal and ordered his immediate arrest from the courtroom.
A judicial magistrate in session court Lahore had sentenced Shah Hussain for seven-year imprisonment but Lahore High Court later acquitted him the following year.
A three-member bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa heard the arguments from both sides and accepted Siddiqui’s appeal to overturn the acquittal and declared the LHC’s verdict null and void.
I missed a week of lectures and some important classes but that somehow became secondary to the big battle I had been fighting for the previous 3 years,” Khadija Siddiqi said in conclusion.
During the hearing, Justice Khosa remarked, “why was the accused [Shah Hussain] nominated after five days of the incident even though Khadija knew the culprit well as he was her class fellow.”
Khadija Siddiqui expressed her delight over the court’s decision and declared it the victory for every oppressed woman. She in her message encouraged women to step forward to fight against the injustices against them.
Khadija Siddiqui Becomes a Barrister
Khadija Siddiqui has recently become a barrister after passing 12 examinations. According to the university, she has garnered “very competent” grade and her graduation ceremony will be held in October this year.
Khadija continued her studies despite a stressful situation. She had to travel back to Pakistan during her examination to attend the hearing of the case that eventually concluded in her favor.
Khadija plans to return to Pakistan to continue her practice as a lawyer. Siddiqi aims to become the strength of the voiceless people, adding that, “I hope and pray God gives me the will power and strength to give a voice to the voiceless and bring about judicial reforms soon.”
She recalled having received a call from her lawyer barrister Salman Safdar asking for her appearance in the Supreme Court for the final hearing of her case.
Read more: Justice for Khadija: A test for the law, the judge and the justice system!
“He said that the case could be heard in my absence too if it was getting hard to come back midway bar course. But somewhere deep in my heart, I knew that all hopes were hinging upon my case, how they were eagerly waiting for justice to be served,” said Khadija.
“It became my obligation and duty to be present in the Supreme Court of Pakistan for my case hearing. I did not give it a second thought and booked my ticket. I missed a week of lectures and some important classes but that somehow became secondary to the big battle I had been fighting for the previous 3 years,” Khadija Siddiqi said in conclusion.