Original subtitles

Your Honor,

this file contains all the messages

between my client, Ms. Sehar, and the defendant, Kamran.

Ms. Sehar provided these to the police as evidence,

and they are part of the official record.

Perhaps the defendant didn't read the police report thoroughly,

or maybe his lawyer failed to brief him properly.

But if you take notice,

there isn't a single message from Ms. Sehar that gives any hint of flirtation.

Not only did the defendant, Kamran, invite my client for lunch,

but he also sent her constant reminders.

He asked whether or not she likes Chinese food.

And when Ms. Sehar was running late,

he messaged her repeatedly,

asking where she was and when she would arrive.

So, Mr. Kamran?

What do you have to say about this?

Yes, Your Honor.

These are just a handful of messages.

Sehar selectively saved the ones she wanted and deleted the rest.

And what's your proof of that?

You're the one who claimed to have deleted all the messages.

That's exactly what Sehar took advantage of.

How would Ms. Sehar have known

you deleted your messages? Was she psychic?

Because the police report makes no mention of her deleting anything.

Your Honor, this raises the question...

why didn't the police conduct a forensic analysis of Mr. Kamran's phone?

Ms. Beenish...

Let's get to the point.

I take no pleasure in saying this, but the truth is...

your client, Sehar,

is a divorcée

who wanted to trap me and marry me by any means necessary.

Mr. Kamran,

you're the only witness to that lie.

And you have absolutely no proof.

It is the truth.

The actual truth is that

she was trying to blackmail and extort money from me.

You're the only witness to that lie as well.

Where's the proof?

And what about the false rape charges Sehar filed against me?

Where's the proof for that?

There's no medical report.

There were no witnesses. She just leveled an accusation.

So I demand proof from you, Ms. Beenish.

Go on, bring it. Show me.

How many more lies are you going to tell?

Everyone in this courtroom, the judge included,

can see you're standing in muck.

And that's why nothing but muck is coming out of your mouth.

Ms. Sehar, please sit down.

Sehar. Please sit down.

I'll handle this.

No, Beenish. I can't listen to another word of this.

Your Honor.

How can you allow a rapist to stand here and slander a rape survivor like this?

You are such a liar.

I'm not a rapist, and you're not a rape victim.

You are a liar. A fraud.

You are a disgrace to society.

Do you have any shame at all after destroying someone's daughter's life?

Your own daughter will grow up in this society one day.

How will she feel when she finds out her father is a rapist?

She'll hate you.

Shut your mouth.

Don't you dare take my daughter's name.

If there's anyone who has no right to speak that child's name, it's you.

So you weave this magnificent story, say these things,

and you think you can fool the judge?

It's a great story, Sehar. But where's the truth?

So what should I do?

Just sit here and watch your little show?

I am telling the truth.

And everyone in this court has enough sense

to tell what's true and what's a lie.

Don't mistake your shouting for sense.

Stop trying to fool everyone. The show is over.

It will only end with my victory.

Not victory.

Humiliation is your destiny.

How are you going to prove this accusation?

I can prove it, and I will prove it.

I don't believe this.

Is this real or a nightmare?

What is going on in your courtroom, Your Lordship?

My client is being humiliated in open court.

I'm simply making him face the truth, Your Honor.

He's humiliating himself.

Please take your seat, Ms. Sehar.

Your Honor, I need answers.

This man is attacking my character,

and he can't run away from my questions now.

Take your seat, Ms. Sehar,

or this court will be compelled to act.

Sir, I will not sit down.

Sehar. Please.

Beenish, even if I lose this case, today in this courtroom,

I will expose this vile man for who he truly is.

Ms. Sehar, this is your last warning.

Speak, you disgusting man. What were you saying?

Take her into custody and remove her from the courtroom.

All the evidence is coming to light before the court, piece by piece.

So far, only one lie has been exposed.

As this case moves forward,

all of your lies will be brought to light.

Objection, Your Honor.

Ms. Beenish isn’t asking questions.

She’s passing judgment.

She needs to be reminded that

determining truth from lies is the function of this honorable court, not hers.

Sustained.

Ms. Beenish, please confine yourself to the questions.

Your Honor.

Isn't it true, Mr. Kamran,

that when Ms. Sehar refused to fall for your flirtations and tricks,

your ego was deeply wounded?

No, that's not true.

Is it not true that

when your ego was bruised,

you became so enraged that you lost all control?

You wanted Ms. Sehar to give you another chance,

to have an affair with you.

That's a lie. A blatant lie. That's not true at all.

And when Ms. Sehar refused,

with complete premeditation,

you lured her to your house...

and to satisfy your ego,

to teach her a lesson, you did all of this.

Badgering, Your Honor.

The question has been asked and answered.

And still, the prosecution counsel is putting words

in my client's mouth to elicit the response she desires.

Sustained. Ms. Beenish.

I am doing nothing of the sort, Your Honor.

The record proves

that the accused, Kamran, was persistently

harassing my client, Ms. Sehar.

And despite her constant rejections,

the accused would not stop.

When Ms. Sehar tried to distance herself from the accused, Kamran,

his rage only intensified.

He thought...

how dare this girl refuse me?

I am Kamran.

I'm rich.

I own this company.

I am incredibly good-looking.

What right does she have to reject me?

And as a result of all this,

with complete premeditation,

he committed this heinous crime.

Your Honor.

This is precisely why, in the high courts,

a victim's testimony in rape cases holds immense weight,

even in the absence of physical evidence.

And if the court is satisfied with the victim's testimony,

it can sentence the accused even without corroborating evidence.

Stop this nonsense.

What…

what does Sehar even think of herself?

Who does she even think she is to reject me?

This was all about your rage, wasn't it?

You did all this just to satisfy your own ego.

There's a difference between flirting, getting angry,

and rape, damn it!

So, you're finally admitting it. To your anger and your flirting.

I...

When? When did I do that? When did I admit anything?

You just did, Mr. Kamran.

In the end, you became a prisoner of your own words and actions.

You know the saying.

A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.

You can't take it back now.

Water... I need some water.

By all means. Mr. Bukhari.

Please, get your client some water.

Abrar.

Can you please give Mr. Kamran some water?

What… what does Sehar even think of herself?

Who does she even think she is to reject me?

There's a difference between flirting, getting angry,

and rape, damn it!

Are you feeling better, Mr. Kamran?

Yeah...

Yeah, I'm okay.

So tell me,

now that we've exposed your lie about my client, Sehar,

and her supposed flirting,

why should we believe anything else you have to say?

Nothing has been exposed.

Everything I said was the truth.

And what truth would that be?

The evidence tells a very different story.

You have to prove what I did.

I have nothing to prove for what I haven't done.

The truth is,

Sehar is a divorcée.

And she's not even a virgin.

The truth is,

Sehar is the kind of woman

who can't keep her own life together, so she sets out to destroy someone else's.

All for the sake of money and security.

Where there's smoke, there's fire,

and I'm starting to see the haze, Ms. Beenish.

The smoke is rising from the very spot where the fire was lit, Mr. Kamran.

Your Honor,

the defendant, Mr. Kamran, is impugning the character of

every divorced woman in this country.

Objection, Your Lordship.

What is the relevance here?

My client was certainly not referring to every divorced woman in Pakistan.

This is simply an attempt to shed light on her client's character.

Sustained.

Your Honor,

the defense counsel and the defendant, Mr. Kamran,

are resorting to the very tactics

that have always been used to discourage victims of rape from pursuing justice.

It's the same story that's always been told, and it's being told here again today.

Why do you think a rape victim hesitates to file a report?

Because she knows that,

in the end, it is her character that will be assassinated.

She knows she will inevitably become a target of victim-blaming.

Your Honor,

I can state with absolute pride that my client, Ms. Sehar,

is a woman of unimpeachable character.

Before I proceed, I would like to present

the January 2020 Lahore High Court ruling by Justice Ayesha Malik to the court.

According to the ruling, in a rape case,

the victim's past character is irrelevant.

What is relevant is whether the defendant committed the act of rape.

Questioning a victim's character

or their virginity does not determine whether or not a rape or assault took place.

In fact, doing so puts the victim on trial,

rather than the accused.

Your Honor, Her Ladyship goes on to write in her ruling

that even if an individual has had multiple sexual partners,

it does not mean they deserve to be raped.

Your Honor, Justice Ayesha further states in her ruling

that to attack a rape victim's character is to attack her dignity.

Sexual assault or rape is a heinous crime.

In such cases, the victim must be handled with sensitivity,

rather than being subjected to character assassination.

Your Lordship, the nature of this case is entirely different.

The issue here is that an innocent man

is being falsely accused of a heinous crime like rape.

So naturally, doubts will be cast on Ms. Sehar’s character.

A ruling delivered by the honorable Justice in an unrelated case

is simply not applicable here.

Your Honor, let me reiterate

that my client, Ms. Sehar,

is a woman of unimpeachable character.

when investigating a rape or assault case,

the victim's character should not be called into question.

Even if a victim of rape or assault has had previous sexual relationships,

that fact is irrelevant to the case.

The only thing that matters is whether or not the accused raped the victim.

And the judgment further clarifies, Your Honor,

that even if a victim has already lost her virginity,

it gives no one the right to sexually assault her.

In a rape case, it is the accused who is on trial,

not the victim.

Even the police are forbidden from asking such questions.

And if, after all this,

the defense counsel remains unconvinced,

he should read the Anti-Rape Investigation and Trial Act.

Under the act, any evidence pertaining to a victim's supposed ill character

is deemed inadmissible in court.

I hope this clears things up for the defense counsel

and that his client, Mr. Kamran, finally grasps

that a woman's virginity,

her marital status,

whether she is single, married, or divorced, is utterly irrelevant.

The only thing that matters is whether she was raped.

Men get raped, too, don't they, Your Honor?

Is a male victim's virginity ever questioned?

Is he asked to prove it?

Of course not.

The very idea is preposterous, Your Honor.

I must concede, Your Honor,

that Ms. Beenish gives a very fine speech.

Were this a debate,

she would no doubt take home first prize.

But for a performance in this courtroom,

she might earn a runner-up title, perhaps a consolation prize,

but she cannot be the victor.

Because this is a court of law.

And this court doesn't render verdicts based on

soaring rhetoric or a flood of words.

It rules on one thing, and one thing only, evidence.

My client has been subjected to one baseless accusation after another,

and I am forced to remind her

that my client is innocent until proven guilty,

and the law guarantees him the right to a defense.

The accused has no right

to attack a rape survivor by demeaning her character.

Your Honor.

I regret to inform the court

that rather than mount a credible defense, the accused, Kamran,

is attempting to use my client's past, her divorce,

and her lack of virginity as a weapon against her.

What bearing could that possibly have on this case?

However, if we are going to dig into the past,

then let's talk about something relevant...

the accused's history of infidelity and cheating on his own wife.

Excuse me? Hold on a second.

What are you even talking about?

Why on earth would I need to cheat on my wife or have an affair?

I have a beautiful wife.

We're very happily married.

Your Honor, I still don't have a clue

why I'm being dragged through the mud with this bogus rape charge.

Your Honor.

According to research from the U.S. Department of Justice,

psychological studies confirm that

the primary motive for rape is not uncontrolled sexual desire.

Rather, the perpetrator's real motive is a desire for power

and control over the victim.

This research concludes

that rape is fundamentally a crime of violence,

driven by anger and the need to dominate.

Sexual gratification is merely a secondary factor.

Your Honor, we’ve had our share of unwelcome imports from America in the past,

like the pests that destroyed Pakistan's crops.

Must we now import their legal arguments as well?

My point is,

how can you generalize based on one study with a limited sample size?

It proves nothing.

It is not just one study, Your Honor.

Extensive research by the Crown Prosecution Service

in Britain has reached the very same conclusion.

And according to their findings, rape is not an impulsive act of lust,

but a crime of power.

It’s not an act of impulse.

In most rape cases, the act is premeditated.

And according to this research,

when several rapists were interviewed,

they were perfectly content with the sexual relationships

they had with their partners.

In other words,

they didn't commit this heinous crime out of sexual frustration, Your Honor.

Objection, Your Honor.

What is the relevance of the prosecution counsel's argument?

She is merely wasting the court's time.

There is no proof against my client.

And the facts and evidence presented before this court don't just speak.

They scream that my client is innocent.

If any crime has been committed, it was by Ms. Sehar

when she leveled these false accusations against my client.

If anyone is screaming here, it is you, Mr. Bukhari.

The supposed proof of your client's innocence is conspicuously silent.

Because it simply does not exist.

Objection overruled.

Mr. Bukhari, please take your seat.

Ms. Beenish, please continue.

Go on, Ms. Beenish.

In America and Britain,

as well as South Africa, Rape Crisis Heidelberg,

an NGO dedicated to supporting rape victims, confirms

that sexual excitement is no justification for rape.

Seventy-five percent of rape cases were premeditated sexual assaults.

In cases of gang rape, that figure rises to ninety percent.

This means the thought to commit rape

isn't suddenly triggered by what a woman is wearing...

this crime is committed based on a carefully orchestrated plan.

A rapist can be your co-worker,

your friend,

or even a member of your family.

It is also a myth

that a sexual assailant is typically insane or suffering from a mental illness.

If I am such a monster, then why did Sehar come to my house?

She only came to create an opportunity to falsely accuse me of rape.

Because Sehar had no idea how depraved you truly are.

That's why you orchestrated the entire situation to lure her to your home.

And if she hadn't come,

you would have simply devised another plan to commit this crime.

According to a report by the Bureau of Justice,

thirty-five percent of rape cases don't happen at the perpetrator's home,

but at the victim's.

Rapes even happen in offices and schools.

And in our own country,

cases are reported from religious seminaries almost every other day.

Objection, Your Honor.

Has this court convened today just to listen to Ms. Beenish’s series of lectures?

If that's the case, please inform us so we can leave.

Why are we being put through this torture?

Judging by her speech,

it seems her sole objective is to malign the reputation of Pakistani men.

Whereas she needs to be reminded

that no one respects women more than the men of this country.

And that's a truth for the whole world to see.

Mr. Bukhari is making claims.

I, on the other hand, am stating facts, Your Honor.

In Lahore, at Iqbal Park,

a woman visiting with her family is publicly assaulted.

In Islamabad's F-9 Park,

a woman is raped in broad daylight.

In Karachi, whether in Model Colony,

the FB Area, or Gulistan-e-Jauhar...

women in full Islamic veils are harassed,

sometimes by a clean-shaven man in trousers,

other times by a bearded man in traditional attire.

We see these horrors broadcast on our TVs.

Your Honor,

these incidents aren't just the reality of our society.

They prove that sexual assault has nothing to do

with a woman's clothing or her location.

In fact, in this country,

an average of eight children are victims of sexual assault every single day.

And this isn't just about girls.

Boys are sexually abused as well.

According to Sahil, an organization

that reports violence and sexual abuse against children in Pakistan,

sixty-five per cent of these reported cases come from rural areas,

with the remaining thirty-five per cent from urban ones.

This means that location, clothing, city, gender,

or even age are all irrelevant.

Because a predator does not discriminate.

Objection, Your Lordship.

The prosecution counsel first claims this is about ego, then about power.

And now she's delivering a sermon on the ills of our society.

It may seem impolite of me to say,

but she is just beating around the bush.

Because that's exactly what she's doing.

Therefore, perhaps the court could ask her

to pick an argument and stick with it?

Objection overruled.

Please be seated, Mr. Bukhari.

It's not just one argument, Your Honour.

I stand by every word,

as my entire argument is founded on facts.

Countless studies prove

that the accused, Kamran, did not commit this crime out of lust,

but out of a need to assert his power.

And this is exactly why, throughout history, in times of war,

victorious armies have raped the women in the territories they've conquered.

They do it to establish dominance and to break their spirit.

And for your information, Mr. Bukhari,

not even a husband has the right to force himself on his wife.

Because no means no.

Period.

Mr. Bukhari, do you have anything else to add?

No, Your Lordship.

No.

Ms. Beenish, would you like to cross-examine further?

That's all, Your Honour.

It has grown quite late.

In two days,

the defendant Kamran's witnesses, his employees,

Mureed, Maqsood, Farzana, and Dilawar,

will be recalled to give their testimony.

This court is adjourned for two days.

All rise.

My God, Beenish.

I'm so proud of you.

That was amazing.

In fact, you're amazing, Beenish.

I never imagined we could discuss these things

so openly in our country, let alone in a courtroom.

Well done, my child. Well done.

You did a fantastic job.

Thank you.

Thank you all so much.

Are we getting any closer to proving it?

We're very close to pushing Kamran into making more mistakes.

And the more mistakes he makes,

the deeper he'll dig his own grave.

As you all saw today.

His own overconfidence led him to self-sabotage.

What a piece of work he is.

He gets caught red-handed again and again,

yet he just keeps spinning new lies.

That's the problem with lies.

They have no life of their own.

A lie must be crafted,

and that's precisely where people slip up.

I can't believe it. What was that?

Seriously, Mr. Bukhari...

Is this a courtroom or a classroom?

Sehar's lawyer, Beenish,

is giving a lecture, and no one's stopping her.

Not even the judge.

And you...

You didn't stop her either. What good are you?

That's enough, Mr. Kamran, just stop it.

I warned you about this.

I explained the implications,

but you wouldn't listen to a single word.

So, how are you feeling now? Satisfied?

Has the damage been severe?

Very.

Very severe.

So that means...

I'm going to be convicted?

I won't let that happen.

But instead of making things easier for me,

you're just creating more problems.

Now this whole thing falls on your employees' shoulders.

I promise, a mistake like this won't happen again.

I'll do exactly as you say.

But the way Beenish was pressuring me with her questions,

one mistake just led to another.

Mr. Bukhari, that was me, and I could barely handle it.

I'm just thinking about what will happen

when my employees take the stand and Beenish starts questioning them?

Then what?

How will they ever hold up against her?

They will.

They will have to.

I'll prepare them.

You can go now.

Stop it, Rohit.

Kamran lied to me, and you went along with it.

You should be asking Kamran that, Kiran.

Not me.

Why not?

Weren't you the one who told me

Kamran and Sehar were having an affair?

I was.

So what kind of affair was this, Rohit?

Kamran sent all the messages,

he took her to lunch,

and he invited her to our house for dinner.

But now you're all claiming

that Sehar is the one who made up a fake story?

Kiran, I didn't do any of that, did I?

Did I send the messages? Did I invite her over?

Take it up with your husband. Why are you giving me a hard time?

No. Kamran is a liar.

You're going to tell me the truth, Rohit.

Because I wasn't planning to trust him this time.

I only trusted him because I trusted you.

But you turned out to be a liar, too.

Yes, I lied. Fine, I lied.

But let's get the facts straight, Kiran.

You trusted me

because you were looking for an excuse to trust Kamran.

In your heart, you weren't convinced.

But your mind needed a reason,

a reason that my word gave you.

And the second you had it,

you put your faith in your husband again.

So this is not on me.

No, no, no.

Don't you dare put that on me.

Why did you make up such an elaborate lie?

If you couldn't tell me the truth as my friend,

you could have at least told me as Kamran's wife.

The same way you wanted to protect your husband,

I wanted to protect my friend.

Even if it meant losing Manisha?

Of course not.

Why would I want to lose her? She is my life.

She’s my everything.

And by the way, how much longer is your life, Manisha,

even going to be in your life?

First, let me save my friend.

Then, I will save my marriage with Manisha.

Please. Don’t lecture me on sacrificing marriage for friendship.

We both know your real interest isn’t just saving a friend,

it’s saving this business.

Kiran, how dare you?

You really think I’m that despicable?

You think I’d do all of this just to save the business?

Exactly.

That’s a question you should ask yourself.

Kiran, you are crossing a line.