Karachi judge says Pakistan has no law to punish people for abetment of suicide

A sessions court has expressed serious concern over the absence of a law in Pakistan to punish those whose actions drive another person to take their own life, while hearing a case involving the suicide of a woman in Karachi.

A married woman was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her room in North Karachi in 2022. Her husband and two bother-in-laws were booked under manslaughter charges on the complaint of the woman's brother.

Additional Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed acquitted all three accused of the charge of qatl-bis-sabab. The court ruled that the woman’s death was a result of suicide and noted that her suicide notes reflected the emotional distress and harsh conditions she had been living under.

While clearing the accused under the existing charges, the judge held Faraz Ahmed responsible for contributing to his wife’s suicide "his acts and omissions, coupled with his failure to protect his wife from the persistent cruelties of his family, directly contributed to her death."

The court observed that Sections 322 (qatl-bis-sabab or manslaughter) of the Pakistan Penal Code do not apply to suicide cases, as the law does not currently recognise abetment of suicide as a punishable offence. The judge noted that this legal gap remains a matter of grave concern, as there is no specific provision to hold individuals accountable for causing another person to end their life.

"I have reached the conclusion that the deceased committed suicide due to the acts and omissions of her husband," the judge said.

"It is, however, a matter of grave concern that in Pakistan there exists no specific law that renders a person legally responsible for being the cause or reason behind another’s suicide."