The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday reduced the life sentence of a woman convicted of killing her husband to 14 years imprisonment, after the court heard that she had endured years of violence and financial exploitation at his hands.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Hashim Khan Kakkar took up the case.
The defence counsel told the court that the unemployed husband regularly beat his wife while forcing her to demand money from her parents. The woman, who had four children, relied on her mother for financial support.
The last time the husband demanded money, however, the mother refused after which he assaulted his wife.
The counsel further said that the woman’s honour was under threat when she reacted. He added that convict Afshan Sehar has been behind bars since 2016 and has already served close to 10 years.
The prosecutor told the court that Afshan had struck her husband on the head, resulting in his death.
Justice Hashim Khan Kakkar remarked: “Usually it is the husband who kills the wife. This is the first case I have seen where the wife has killed the husband”.
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim noted that Afshan’s two brothers were also named in the case but had been acquitted.
Justice Hashim observed that if a ruling were made purely on the prosecution’s evidence, all three accused would walk free.
The court subsequently announced its verdict, reducing Afshan Sehar’s life sentence to 14 years.
