October 24, 2024
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Punjab police have proposed making domestic violence a cognisable offence on the report of a police officer or a victim in a bid to increase prosecution of domestic violence cases under the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWVA-2016).
Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar has reportedly moved a summary of proposed amendments to the domestic violence law to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to get the provincial cabinet’s approval.
The proposed amendments call for a maximum sentence of three years for the offence of domestic violence with or without a fine up to Rs1 million, summary trial of offenders on a police report or complaint of a victim, and declaring domestic violence a non-bailable offence for repeat offenders.
In the summary, the IG police briefed that domestic violence has been a systematic and widespread phenomenon that occurs across Punjab regardless of the age or socio-economic status of the victim. The absence of a strict legal regime further fuels the aggressors who have a perpetual sense of going unpunished due to legal void, the provincial police stated in the summary.
Quoting data from complaints lodged with the Virtual Women Police Station (VWPS) that began operations in April, the IGP said that FIRs were registered against the offenders in only 6pc of complaints of domestic abuse. The VWPS had received a total of 114,540 complaints to date out of which 59,798 were related to domestic violence against women.
According to the summary, there was no explicit penal provision declaring domestic violence as a cognisable offence hence the first information report was lodged in only 3,365 cases out of 59,798 while the matter was treated as non-cognisable in the rest of the cases. The IGP noted that there is a dire need to amend the relevant section of the said Act, to ensure the support and protection of women against violence across the province of Punjab.
The proposed amendments suggested the insertion of a new clause Section 21 (A) to the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016.
“Section 21-A: (1) (proposed) The offence of domestic violence shall be punished with imprisonment of three years or with a fine which may extend to Rs1 million or both. The offence shall be cognisable, bailable and compoundable.
(2) The court may take cognisance of the matter either on a police report u/s 173 Cr.PC or on a private complaint filed by the victim and try the offence summarily.
(3) If a person is punished under this Act and he commits the offence of domestic violence again, the offence shall be treated as non-bailable.”
NHRC chief cautions against making PPWVA a penal statute only
However, lawyers, women protection officers, and activists warn that the proposed amendments to the legislation would shift the focus away from the protection, relief and rehabilitation of women against domestic violence.
Rabiya Javeri, chairperson of the National Commission on Human Rights, believed that the proposed amendments could be an effective deterrent against domestic violence as repeat offenders would be denied bail. In her view, the proposed changes would lead to a jump in the number of domestic violence cases. “Furthermore, since Section 21-A(1) makes the offence of domestic violence cognizable, there is a greater likelihood of an increase in the number of FIRs lodged against perpetrators of domestic violence,” she told Voicepk.net.
However, the NCHR chief cautioned against turning the protection law into a penal statute. “To ensure that the proposed amendments do not confine the purpose of the Act to merely a penal statute, the proposed amendments ought to take into consideration the crucial aspect of ensuring the establishment of an effective rehabilitation system for women trying to escape abusive relationships,” Javeri added.
PPWVA should be modeled on Sindh domestic violence law: lawyer
Shabbir Hussain, a senior lawyer with the AGHS Legal Aid Cell, said the proposed amendments would lead to legal confusion and clash over jurisdiction. “The definition of violence is very broad in the PPWVA and offences under it are not defined as the case with Sindh domestic violence law,” he said. The Sindh Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013, lists, defines, and prescribes sentences for various offences of domestic violence ranging from assault, use of criminal force, criminal intimidation, emotional harassment, hurt, physical abuse, stalking, sexual abuse, wrongful confinement, and economic abuse. “The trial court in the Sindh legislation is a judicial magistrate who has jurisdiction in criminal cases but that is not the case in the Punjab law which has a family court judge,” he pointed out.
“The proposed amendments would limit sentences to three years for all offences of domestic violence which might also include the attempt to murder which is punishable for seven years or life,” Hussain added. In cases of severe cases of domestic violence that include grievous bodily harm or attempt to murder, the police would have to technically file two first information reports – one for the trial court under domestic violence law for offences with less than three years sentence and the other for the sessions court for offences over three years sentence, he explained. It would prove to be a nightmare for overburdened police officials, he added. In his view, the amendments would prove successful only if the Punjab domestic law is amended thoroughly on the lines of the Sindh legislation.
Speaking to Voicepk.net on the condition of anonymity, a woman protection officer said the proposed amendments would entirely sidestep the role of women protection officers under the PPWVA. “Presently, the trial court can take cognisance on the complaint of the District Women Protection Officer or a Woman Protection Officer acting on behalf of the District Women Protection Officer but that will be replaced by the police officer,” she said. In her view, the police would be lodging FIRs in all cases of domestic abuse, leaving no room for mediation or reconciliation that could lead to further ostracisation of women victims. In her opinion, the police were ill-equipped to provide rescue, shelter, and protection to women victims as envisaged under the PPWVA.