Hudood case couple freed

Published April 22, 2006

HYDERABAD, April 21: The Hyderabad Circuit Bench of the Sindh High Court, taking suo motu notice of media reports about a woman and her husband remanded to Okara police in a case under Hudood Ordinance ordered on Friday suspension of the remand granted by a civil judge here on Thursday.

Justice Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari said in his order that “the lady and anyone else named in the application of remand shall not be taken out of the jurisdiction of this court”.

In a related development, a judicial magistrate in Okara dismissed all cases against Aruna and Moazzam on Friday and ordered their immediate release.

The couple and Moazzam’s younger brother Junaid were arrested here in the case registered in Okara by Aruna’s father, a retired civil judge, and were handed over to a police team from Okara.

Justice Leghari said in his order: “All concerned be produced before the principal seat of the court or any of its benches having territorial jurisdiction on April 24 for passing further orders.” The order also put the Sindh advocate-general on notice.

Justice Leghari ordered: “The additional registrar is directed to communicate orders to the sessions judge Hyderabad, the magistrate concerned, Sindh home secretary, IG Police Sindh and the additional IG Police Hyderabad, immediately through telephone as well as by fax for compliance.

“The IG Police shall personally ensure the compliance and submit a report within one hour by fax.”

The order said that “copies of the order be communicated to the registrar of the Sindh High Court, additional registrar Sukkur and Larkana for immediately placing the same before the chief justice and senior sitting judges at Sukkur and Larkana bench.”

The orders of the court were communicated to the authorities concerned within an hour.

When contacted by phone in Okara, Aruna told Dawn she was happy that litigation seemed to be over “for the time being.” The couple are on their way back to Hyderabad by road, it is learnt. They are being escorted by a team of the Okara police.

Members of Moazzam’s family said that he had been pressurized by his in-laws to divorce Aruna and that he had also received death threats.

Waqar, Moazzam’s younger brother, told Dawn at his residence in Latifabad that a false case had been registered in Okara, saying that Aruna’s Nikah had been revoked and a notice had been received a couple of days ago.

Most members of the family, including the mother of Moazzam, said they were delighted at the relief given to Aruna by the Sindh High Court and the Okara magistrate.

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