Police, prosecution agree to tackle delayed challans

The challan submitted to the court will be sent to the prosecutor for identifying objections and defects

LAHORE: The Punjab police and the prosecution department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to address delays related to the submission of challans in courts.

The MoU was signed during a ceremony on Tuesday. Additional IG Investigation Abu Bakar Khuda Bukhsh, Punjab Prosecutor General Rana Muhammad Arif Kamal Noon, Prosecution Secretary Nadeem Ahmad Chaudhary, Deputy District Public Prosecutor Farzana Kotana, Prosecution Director Asmat Hinjra and other officers were present.

Under the MoU, the challan submitted to the court by the investigation officer will be sent to the prosecutor for the process of identifying objections and defects. The prosecutor will be obliged to return the report back to the investigation officer within three days. Subsequently, the investigation officer will be bound to resubmit the report after rectifying and removing the objections within another three days.

According to the MoU, if the investigation officer requires additional time to remove the objections, he will be obliged to inform the concerned prosecutor in writing, highlighting the reasons for the extension. However, this extension shall not exceed three days’ time.

If the investigation officer fails to re-submit the report within the extension, the prosecutor shall write a letter to the concerned DPO to take strict departmental action against that investigation officer.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2019.