Court sentences man for 10 years in Karachi rape case

KARACHI: A sessions court in Karachi has handed a 10-year prison term to a young man after finding him guilty of raping a teenage girl, according to the court proceedings and prosecution account.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed convicted Zeeshan alias Shani after hearing arguments from both sides and reviewing the evidence placed on record. The court found that the accused had raped the teenage girl when she was alone at her home.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the convict to pay Rs100,000 as compensation for the anguish and psychological harm caused to the survivor. The order said that if he failed to make the payment, he would have to undergo further imprisonment.

Court cites age and first-offender status in sentencing

In the written ruling, the judge noted that the punishment for rape under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code ranges from death penalty to imprisonment of not less than 10 years and up to 25 years, along with a fine.

“The maximum punishment for the offence of rape under Section 376, PPC is death penalty, or imprisonment of not less than ten years and up to twenty-five years, and the offender shall also be liable to fine. However, since the convict is a first offender, having no previous criminal record and is young man of aged 22 years, who needs to be integrated in the society after serving out his sentence, he deserves leniency in sentencing,” the judge wrote.

According to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, the survivor told the court that the incident took place in June 2024 in Golimar when she was alone at home because her family members had gone out. She said the brother of their tenant entered the house and forcibly committed the offence.

The survivor further stated that the accused threatened to harm her and her family if she revealed what had happened. She later informed her elder sister, after which the family learned about the incident. She also told the court that the convict’s brother was not at home at the time because he had gone to Hyderabad with his wife to visit his in-laws.

Defence challenged delay in FIR

During the trial, defence counsel denied the allegations and argued that the first information report had been lodged after a delay of four days. The defence claimed the accused had been falsely implicated because a marriage proposal involving the survivor had been refused and because there were tenancy-related disputes. The defence also pointed to discrepancies between the FIR and the survivor’s statement.

Prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, however, told the court that the delay had been explained. She argued that both the complainant and the survivor had fully supported the prosecution case, while medical and DNA reports backed the charge. She also said the defence claims regarding a tenancy dispute and refusal of a marriage proposal were not substantiated, adding that the survivor had identified the accused.

Addressing the delay in registration of the case, the court observed that the FIR was lodged with delay of four days, the victim explained that it was due to her honour and threats to her and her family, as well as emotional blackmailing by the accused that he would kill himself.

The court also examined the defence position and noted that “there was tenancy dispute between the complainant and his brother and that the complainant wanted to marry the victim with him. Such defence pleas do not match with each other.”

The ruling said the accused had failed to produce substantial evidence in support of his claims, although that burden arose once the prosecution had established its case through corroborative material.

The case had been registered at Rizvia Society police station under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code.