A local court in Karachi has sentenced a man to two months in prison on two counts after finding him guilty of harassing a woman while she was travelling in a rickshaw on Sharea Faisal, it emerged on Thursday.

A video of the incident, which had taken place on July 18 this year, was widely shared on social media, following which the convict, Muhammad Hamza, was arrested.

Judicial Magistrate (Central) Niaz Hussain Kandhro issued the verdict in the case on Wednesday, noting that throughout the proceedings, neither the presence of the convict at the place and time of the incident had been denied nor had Hamza refuted the video circulating on social media.

The judge handed down a one-month jail sentence to him for committing an offence punishable under section 294 (obscene acts and songs) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), further sentencing him to another month in prison on a count under section 354 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman to outrage her modesty) of the PPC.

He also imposed fines worth Rs10,000 on Hamza on each of the two counts and ruled that the convict would have to undergo additional imprisonment for a week in case of the non-payment of each of the fines.

Judge Kandhro also cancelled bail granted to Hamza, who was sent to prison from the court to serve his sentences.

At the last hearing, the judge had reserved the verdict in the case after recording evidence and final arguments by the parties.

Prosecutor's arguments

At today's hearing, the prosecutor told the court that the complainant was on her way home after meeting a friend when Hamza, who was on a motorcycle, along with six to seven other motorcyclists, had catcalled her in July this year.

They made obscene gestures and made inappropriate remarks, such as "come and sit on our motorcycles", at the woman while she was travelling in a rickshaw on Sharea Faisal, he said, adding that the complainant had testified that when she started filming Hamza and his companions on her phone, some of the motorcyclists went away.

"When they saw me recording the video, Hamza was annoyed and put his hands on my rickshaw, asking the driver to stop," the prosecutor quoted the woman as saying. The rickshaw driver, however, did not stop the vehicle.

Further sharing the complainant's account of the incident, the prosecutor told the court that the rickshaw driver stopped his vehicle when they neared some traffic policemen, at which Hamza and his companions fled.

When the victim reached home, the prosecutor said, she narrated the incident to her family and uploaded the video recorded on her phone on social media.

The media and authorities took notice of the incident after the video began circulating on social media, the prosecutor quoted the complainant as saying, adding that two days after the incident, police officials visited her house and recorded her statement. Subsequently, a first information report of the incident was registered.

The prosecutor contended that Hamza was clearly visible in the video and hence, a culprit in the case.

He added that law enforcement personnel had taken legal action against Hamza after a proper inquiry, praying the court to punish him according to the law.

On the other hand, the defence counsel contended that his client was innocent and had been framed in the case. He pleaded with the court to acquit Hamza.