Section 154 proceedings: District court judges advised to hear both parties first

High court justice sets aside sessions judge’s decision.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has advised the district court judges to hear the defendant’s comments before issuing any directions to the police for recording the version under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Justice Syed Muhammad Kazim Raza Shamsi said this while pointing out some lacunas in an ‘order’ challenged in the LHC that actually had been passed by an additional district & sessions judge in a petition filed under Section 22/A and 22/B of the CrPC.

In his order, Justice Shamsi stated unfortunately it was generally assumed if the case was found fake by the police, proceedings under Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code may be initiated against the complainant for providing false information.

“This assumption has lost its efficacy in the given circumstances prevailing in the society that every person, very cunningly, conceals real facts from court and tries to cheat by making frivolous and false accusations for having the direction to the SHO concerned to register an FIR,” the order stated.

The judge observed the rate of frivolous litigation was increasing day by day. Now it is time to stop and put some restraint upon this practice adopted by the litigants, who in order to satisfy their ego are contributing in the increase of court workload.

Justice Shamsi said the court also committed illegality by leaving the matter at the discretion of the SHO to determine if the offence was cognisable. The court itself has to determine from the facts and circumstances, if any offence is made out or not, while keeping in view that provisions of Section 154 CrPC are being blatantly misused.

“All information relating to a cognisable offence, if given orally to an officer in-charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant. Every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the Government may prescribe in this behalf,” the order said.

The second loophole in the order of the sessions judge stated the ex-officio justice of peace did not apply his legal mind to the facts and circumstances of the case and proceeded mechanically to pass an order on the application of respondent.

Under the law, an aggrieved person is supposed to inform the police station in-charge about the offence and if he refuses or fails to receive such information, then the justice of peace is approached.

Petitioner Rai Naveed Iqbal had filed a petition in court of an additional district and sessions judge, seeking a case against Advocate Shamil Paracha for allegedly misleading the court by issuing a fake certificate.

He claimed Wamiq Zaka was allowed bail when the court did not grant ad-interim pre-arrest bail to the said person. The judge then directed the SHO to record the petitioner’s version for registering the crime report accordingly.

Paracha, however, challenged this order in LHC where he disclosed the confusion took place when the ‘reader’ of sessions judge did not record the order for grant of ad-interim pre-arrest bail to Wamik.

The courts generally grant ad-interim pre-arrest bail when such applications are entertained and apparently it is the mistake of the court reader which was subsequently cured by the court on the application of the petitioner.

The LHC judge, however, has set aside the order.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2017.