Pakistan high court: DNA test mandatory in sexual assault cases
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The single-member Peshawar High Court bench has directed that DNA tests will now be mandatory on the suspect as well as the alleged victim in sexual assault cases.
Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani ruled that under that Section 164-B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which was inserted in the law by Criminal Law Act 2016, DNA samples of the rapist and the victim will be collected and sent for examination as soon as possible.
The bench further observed, "It further provides that the DNA samples collected shall be sent at earliest for the purpose of the investigation to a Forensic Laboratory, where the same shall be properly examined and preserved."
The decision was passed in a comprehensive judgement of bail petition filed by Umar Taj, who was earlier charged with sexually abusing and raping a woman, local media reports said.
In the judgement, Justice Roohul Amin Khan talked about laws on Protection of Women (Criminal law Amendment) Act, 2006, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences Related to Rape) Act, 2016 - aimed at protecting women from sexual abuse, adultery and fornication.
As per reports, it was ruled that Section 164-B CrPC linked with carrying out DNA tests would be applicable under Section 376 (Punishment for Rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The PPC Section 376 awards punishment of death or imprisonment for a term of 10 to 20 years and fine for an accused proved guilty of rape.
The judgement passed by the bench also observed that the offence of sexual intercourse between people not married to each other is non-cognisable and that a complaint has to be lodged in the concerned court in connection with the offence.