SC orders police to ensure proper procedures are followed in cases related to women

Justice Qazi Faez Isa directs authorities to ensure Urdu, English version of SOP is available at police stations

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered authorities to ensure the implementation of relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) guaranteeing women investigation officers in cases pertaining to women.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood issued the directives while wrapping up a petition of a woman abducted and raped by her ex-husband.

The woman’s counsel informed the court that the former husband abducted and raped his client days after giving her a divorce. The woman then filed a first information report (FIR) at a local police station in Gujranwala where a male IO was assigned to debrief her and investigate the matter.

The bench was irked at the violations of police SOPs to assign a woman IO in cases of nature and directed action against the station house officer (SHO) of the concerned police station.

The apex court also ordered the police to ensure a copy of the SOP in Urdu and English was available at every police station.

Justice Isa also took exception to the superintend referring to the inspector general of police with a British-era title. He remarked that the police continued pre-independence culture despite the country acquiring freedom from British Raj in 1947.

The police should change its mindset and move forward from slavery culture, he observed.