Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Friday has set aside the extended three-year sentence against former additional district and sessions judge Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar in Tayyaba torture case.

A three-member bench of the top court comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yayha Afridi passed the order, and maintained one-year sentence against former judge and his wife which was awarded by the trial court.

Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar were sentenced over charges of torturing girl-maid Tayyaba.

The court was informed by the Islamabad advocate general that as per the statement of neighbours, the convicts had burnt Tayyaba’s hand after a broom went missing and the statement was verified by the child maid’s own testimony.

It was added that soon after the pictures of Tayyaba’s bruised and tortured face went viral on social media, her employers claimed that she had disappeared and reported her missing; however, the child was recovered from the couple’s house later.

Tayyaba was 10 years old when she was working as a domestic worker at the judge’s house. On December 29, 2016, she was recovered from their house after neighbours complained of the child being tortured. The minor’s face and hands bore marks of torture.

However, the verdict stated that the quantum of the sentence (duration of the punishment) for the offence under Section 328-A of the Pakistan Penal Code is the subject matter of another appeal pending before the court and will be decided accordingly.

Under Section 328-A of PPC, “whoever willfully assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons or does an act of omission or commission, that results in or has, potential to harm or injure the child by causing physical or psychological injury to him shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year and may extend up to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees and may extend up to fifty-thousand rupees, or with both”.

In April 2018, Justice Farooq had sentenced the couple to serve one year in prison and fined Rs50,000 each under Section 328-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which was later extended by the IHC.

The couple, however, could not be arrested as they immediately obtained after their conviction against a surety of Rs50,000 each.