SC decision a victory for every woman: Khadija

ISLAMABAD: Stabbing survivor Khadija Siddiqui on Wednesday lauded the Supreme Court's decision overturning of the Lahore High Court’s acquittal of her attacker Shah Hussain, calling the move by the apex court a “victory for every woman.”

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa earlier today overturned LHC’s decision and ordered imprisonment of Shah Hussain, following which the suspect was arrested from the court premises.

Hailing the decision, Khadija said the truth always prevails. “The Supreme Court’s [judgment] has proven that even if you misuse your powers, you cannot escape the truth forever. Today’s decision is a victory for every woman.”

The law student thanked the media and praised its role in highlighting the case. “The media played its role brilliantly. It covered my day to day case proceedings and played its role in preventing injustice.”

During today's hearing, CJP Khosa questioned the delay in naming Shah Hussain in the case. 

"The most important question is why did Shah Hussain want to kill Khadija? Was this question put on record?” Justice Khosa asked.

“The suspect had a lot of chances to kill. Why did he decide to kill in a crowded area and was this point brought on record?” the chief justice further questioned. 

On defence counsel Khalid Ranjha’s request, the chief justice granted Shah Hussain two minutes to present his arguments. “I was nominated because I refused to marry and ended the relationship,” Shah Hussain said. “The prosecution attempted to portray me as a ‘desperate person’."

After hearing the arguments, the bench overturned the LHC order acquitting Shah Hussain and ordered his arrest. The top court also upheld a sessions court decision to sentence Shah Hussain to five years in prison rather than seven years.

The case

On May 3, 2016, Khadija was stabbed 23 times by Shah Hussain, her classmate, in broad daylight on Lahore’s Davis Road. He managed to flee from the scene of the crime but was captured on a mobile camera by an eyewitness.

After the registration of a case, the accused requested a sessions court for bail before arrest, which was turned down. Hussain, whose father happens to be a renowned lawyer, was aided by a number of other lawyers to flee from court premises after his request was turned down.

In September 2016, Hussain's lawyer once again challenged the sessions court verdict in the Lahore High Court, but the court maintained the earlier verdict.

Three days later the accused surrendered himself to police and was sent to prison. He remained behind bars for nearly two months and was subsequently released on December 1, 2016, after the sessions court granted him bail.

Khadija filed an appeal against the court's decision, but it was dismissed.

On July 29, Lahore judicial magistrate sentenced Hussain to seven years in prison, however, on June 4, the Lahore High Court acquitted Hussain. Former chief justice Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the acquittal in June 2018.