Directive to bar courts from entertaining FIR pleas challenged

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday issued notices to the ministry of law & justice, Punjab inspector general police and Lahore session’s judge on a petition challenging a directive issued by session’s judges which restrained session’s courts from entertaining petitions seeking registration of FIRs directly.

Punjab Bar Council member advocate Farhad Ali Shah has filed the writ petition, contending that national judicial (policy making) commission headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa in its recent meeting decided that sessions courts would not take up petitions pertaining to lodging of FIRs unless a police complaint cell headed by an SP rank officer decided complainant’s application at the first instance.

He said Lahore sessions judge had directed all additional sessions judges to return all pending petition for registration of cases and not take fresh petition unless SP’s decision on complaints is attached with them.

He claimed that this move would cause further delay in dispensation of speedy justice as sessions courts had declined to entertain petitions under Section 22-A & 22-B of Code of Criminal Procedure for registration of FIRs. He argued that in past the same powers were exercised by the high courts under Article 199 of the Constitution but later it was delegated to sessions courts in order to lessen the burden of high courts.

He asserted that since Criminal Procedure Code was an act of parliament which empowered sessions courts to direct the police for registration of FIRs as the same powers could not be curtailed by issuing a simple directive. After hearing the initial arguments, the court issued notices to ministry of law & justice and other respondents and sought replies by March 25.