Sister-killing unnatural breach of trust: SC

The Supreme Court expressed concern over the increase in sororicide—killing of sister—tragedies in society. While upholding the life imprisonment of a man who murdered his sister, the SC noted that sororicide is an unnatural breach of trust that reverberates through the community's conscience. "Alarmingly, such tragedies are becoming increasingly visible in our society, shattering families and leaving society itself to grapple with the loss of its most fundamental bonds," said in a five-page judgment authored by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim Justice Ibrahim was part of a division bench led by Justice Muhammad Hasham Khan Kakar, which heard the appeal against a Lahore High Court (LHC) order that also upheld the petitioner's life imprisonment. The petitioner's sister had contracted a marriage of her own choice. The petitioner disapproved of the marriage and murdered his sister approximately 16 to 17 years later. The judgment said it is profoundly unfortunate that siblings, who share a bond of companionship, trust, and mutual care from childhood, should act in betrayal of this bond. The court said when a brother takes his sister's life—the very person he is expected to protect, cherish, and love—it transcends mere criminality and becomes a grave moral rupture. "Traditionally, a brother's care for his sister has been seen as a sacred responsibility, and to forsake this duty strikes at the heart of family bonds and the moral fabric of society," says the order. The judgment noted that the complainant, as the deceased's husband, was well acquainted with the petitioner, his wife's brother; thus, there remains no conceivable doubt regarding the assailant's identification. "The prompt nomination, coupled with close familial familiarity, effectively rules out any possibility of mistaken identity. "It is a settled principle of criminal jurisprudence that substitution of the real culprit is a rare phenomenon, particularly in cases where an eyewitness has seen brutal murder of a close relative. "In such circumstances, it is highly improbable that the actual offender would be allowed to escape while an innocent person is falsely implicated. "The record is bereft of any material suggesting ulterior motive or animus on the part of the complainant to falsely involve the petitioner in the murder of the complainant's wife, who was also the mother of his five children, thereby reinforcing the veracity of the prosecution's case," it added. The court further observed that the couple had lived together for nearly two decades without any untoward incident, rendering the suggested grudge implausible. "The confluence of ocular and medical evidence leads this court to the irresistible conclusion that the conviction and sentence imposed upon the petitioner are neither baseless nor tainted with any legal infirmity. "Consequently, the learned high court has rightly convicted and sentenced the petitioner through the impugned judgment. The petition is accordingly dismissed, leave to appeal is refused, and the sentences awarded by the learned high court are hereby maintained," the SC stated.