FROM FIR TO FINAL APPEAL: A SOCIO-LEGAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE ADJUDICATION IN PAKISTAN THROUGH THE NOOR MUKADAM CASE

Abstract

The Noor Mukadam Case, progression from the registering of the First Information Report to the final adjudication by the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Special Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan is a good and necessary socio-legal prospect to understand the adjudication of gender-based violence in Pakistan criminal justice system. This study examines the case using a criminological socio-legal approach; a combination of doctrinal analysis of the judicial proceedings and criminological assessment of evidentiary practices is used. The research focuses on the virtue of Section 302, 364, 342, and 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (1860) in the application process and the determination of actus reus and mens rea using CCTVs, forensic science, and eyewitness accounts. The Additional Session Judge Special Court GBV, East/West Islamabad and Supreme Court judgments court stressed on how vital digital evidence is and enforced the responsibility of household staff to intervene or report imminent harm. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of murder and rape, but set aside the charge of kidnapping, thereby strengthening the acceptability of digital and forensic evidence to support capital punishment in line with the absence of eyewitness. By the perspective of criminology, the case shows how technological advancement and forensic tools are capable of eliciting the physical and psychological aspects of violent crime. Beyond the doctrinal implications, the study draws attention to systemic issues, such as relying too much on circumstantial reasoning and lack of capacity in forensic expertise and a dispensation in gender-sensitive investigative techniques. It proposes to internalize the procedures of digital evidence, empower forensic infrastructure and integrate the use of victim-based strategies into policing and judicial education. This study puts the case on Noor Mukadam in context through relating law and criminology with broader concerns on gender based violence, accountability and reforming justice in Pakistan.