KARACHI: A session court has ruled that a marriage registrar (nikah khawan) should not merely accept oral entries regarding the age of a bride and groom as he should verify an authentic official documentary proof of their age.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Ilyas made this observation in a detailed order that dismissed the bail application of cleric Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa, who is facing trial for allegedly solemnising marriage of teenage Dua Zehra with Zaheer Ahmed.
The judge observed that an offence committed under Section 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of 14) of the Pakistan Penal Code is not bailable and falls within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“The heinous offence is of moral turpitude which can destroy the entire psychology of a victim by putting her and her family to public shame. It is a stigma with which the family has to face with and is the most hatred crime. Such kind of gruesome offence is not against the individual only but it is also against the good conscience of the society,” it said.
The judge concluded that the applicant was not entitled for concession of bail at this stage, hence bail application stand dismissed.
Hafiz Mustafa, who is currently in judicial custody, had moved an application seeking his release from prison arguing that alleged abductee, Dua Zehra, had herself left her parents’ house and went to Lahore and contracted Nikah with Zaheer.
Defence counsel Aftab Bano argued that “abductee Dua Zehra had attained the age of puberty and can contract marriage with free will.”
However, the counsel said there was no eyewitness of their purported free-will marriage alleged to have been solemnised by her client Hafiz Mustafa to which Asghar Ali also allegedly signed as a witness.
However, the judge noted that as regards registration of Nikah, all Nikah Registrar or other persons who solemnise marriages are under legal obligation to scrutinise credentials at the time of Nikah.
“Mere submission of oral entries for the purpose of age should not be accepted unless any proof of age from parties to marriage preferable which should be in shape of some authentic document either issued by the National Database and Registration Authority in the form of National Identity Card/B-Form or School Leaving Certificate, Medical Certificate based on ossification test issued by the competent authority and Birth Certificate validly issued by the Union Council etc, is produced” the judge ruled in the order.
The court noted that in the present case it transpired that the applicant Hafiz Mustafa did not verify the necessary documents and, therefore, the witness of the Nikah, namely Asghar Ali, had also no credibility.
