Justice on Trial: Investigative Strengths, Systemic Weaknesses, and Gendered Implications in the Noor Mukadam Case

Abstract

Gender-based violence in Pakistan continues to test the resilience of its legal and judicial institutions, with high-profile cases serving as litmus tests for systemic accountability. In this research the main two research questions will be: What were the main strengths and weaknesses in the police investigation and trial proceedings in making justice possible, and what broader implications does the Noor Mukadam case reveal about gender-based violence, women’s safety, and the need for legal reforms in Pakistan? Existing literature on gendered violence has documented prevalence and social consequences, yet a research gap persists regarding doctrinal analysis of judicial decisions and their evidentiary reasoning in gender-based homicide trials. To address this, the study adopts a criminological socio-legal approach, employing doctrinal legal analysis of judicial judgments as the primary method. The research methodology, analyzing Additional Session court Islamabad, and Supreme Court judgments, alongside secondary legal commentaries and human rights reports, to evaluate investigative practices and judicial reasoning. The results show that the investigation had some strong points, like using forensic DNA, CCTV footage, and digital call data that were all supported by the "silent witness" doctrine. Even though there were no eyewitnesses, this was sufficient to support the verdict. However, there were structural issues, including fingerprint evidence that failed to provide a definitive answer, errors in the handling of the crime scene, and popular skepticism due to elite influence. As part of strengthening forensic infrastructure, improving evidence management training, and ensuring the legal system is free of social or political influence, the report suggests reforms in the institutions. It ultimately brought to fruition the experience of the courts in Pakistan that they are actually strong, though as the case of Noor Mukadam got, gender justice cannot be established over a long-term basis without a number of cases like this one.