Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh has dismissed a petition for registration of a first information report (FIR) before the conclusion of an inquiry initiated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing.
A lawyer, Munir Ahmad Bhatti, contended in his petition that his brother made defamatory statements against him in a YouTube programme on May 25
last year.
He submitted a complaint in this regard to the FIA Cybercrime Wing on June 10.
The petitioner stated that as the FIA officials concerned fell silent after initiating the inquiry, he submitted an application before a justice of peace to order registration of the case.
The application was disposed of on October 6 with instructions to the parties to approach the inquiry officer who was directed to conclude the inquiry as early as possible and then proceed in accordance with the law.
The petitioner challenged the order in the LHC, where his counsel contended that the respondent had committed a cognizable offence so the FIA must register the FIR forthwith.
He maintained that Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandated that anFIR should be registered in respect of cognizable offence right away, without any inquiry or investigation.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2022.
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