LAHORE: An application has been submitted for the registration of a case against a shopkeeper in Shahab Town, Nawan Kot, over allegations of indecent conduct with a 10-year-old girl.
According to the text of the application submitted by the girl’s father, the child had gone to a bakery to buy an item. The application alleges that a young man present at the shop, named in the complaint as Hamza, behaved indecently towards the child.
The father has requested in the application that action be taken against the accused and that redress be provided. The application seeks legal proceedings in connection with the incident.
At the time of filing, the position on record is that an application has been submitted. An application is a request for registration of an FIR; it is not itself an FIR, and no case has been confirmed as registered.
Under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, information relating to a cognisable offence must be recorded by the officer in charge of a police station. Where a complainant considers that registration has been refused, Section 22-A of the Code allows an approach to the Justice of Peace, who may direct the police to register the case.
Pakistan’s statute book was substantially strengthened in this area by the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, which inserted Section 377A and Section 377B of the Pakistan Penal Code, creating the offence of sexual abuse of a minor with a defined punishment. Section 328A covers cruelty to a child.
The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act and the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020, together provide the framework for institutional response, including the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency and the child protection apparatus maintained by the Punjab government.
Cases involving minors fall within the jurisdiction of designated courts, and Punjab’s child protection institutions provide for medical examination, psychological support and victim assistance through the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau.
Where such allegations are registered, the investigative standard requires a medico-legal examination conducted by a woman medical officer, a statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a magistrate, and, where available, collection of CCTV footage from the premises and its surroundings. Courts have repeatedly emphasised that delay in medical examination and in recording the child’s statement weakens prosecution in this category of case.
The Lahore High Court has recently underlined the evidentiary weight of forensic findings in child abuse proceedings, granting bail in an Okara child rape case on the basis of forensic material — a reminder that the quality of evidence gathered in the first hours determines the outcome months later.
The allegations described are untested and have not been established before any court. The person named in the complaint has not been convicted of any offence and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
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