Author: Dhananjay Mahapatra
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 31, 2010
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-upholds-life-term-for-man-who-killed-woman-over-burqa/articleshow/6464953.cms#ixzz0yAHEWbzN
Taking a serious view of moral policing over
enforcement of burqa turning brutal, the Supreme Court has upheld life term
to a man who slashed a woman repeatedly resulting in her death.
The enforcement of burqa by force happened
in Annu Nagar in Bhopal in December 1997. Zarina was sitting outside her house
and was rolling beedis when the accused, Rafiq Khan, came and objected to
her being without a burqa.
He offered her money to buy one. She refused
to take the money and asked him to mind his own business. This enraged Khan
no end. He picked up a knife and slashed and stabbed her repeatedly in front
of her minor daughter Farida. Zarina died of the injuries.
Challenging the conviction and life term before
the apex court, Khan had pleaded that Farida was a minor and her testimony
could not be relied upon. But a Bench comprising Justices H S Bedi and C K
Prasad said the girl was 13 years old and understood what the accused was
upto.
The next line of defence put up by Khan for
a lenient sentence was that there was no previous enmity between him and the
deceased and that it happened on the spur of the moment. Arguing for the state
of Madhya Pradesh, counsel Vibha Datta Makhija said it was a clear case of
enforcing burqa code and the accused did not deserve any leniency.
Agreeing with the counsel, the Bench said,
"It appears that the appellant was doing a bit of moral policing and
compelling her to wear a burqa and on her refusal to do so, had got infuriated
and picked up a knife and caused 13 injuries with it."
The SC found corroboration of Farida's evidence
from the statement of another witness Maqbool Ahmed, who had been attracted
to the place of incident on the shouts of the victim and had met Farida outside
the house and had seen Khan running away.
- dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
