FIR against man quashed who uploaded video against superstore for selling 'Ragu sauce'

One of the ingredients in the sauce is said to be pork which is strictly prohibited in Pakistan

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday quashed all proceedings pending before the magisterial court as well as an FIR registered with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against the petitioner for uploading a video on social media pointing out that a superstore is selling ‘Ragu sauce’ which is not Halal.

The controversy came to the fore when it was pointed out that one of the ingredients in the sauce was allegedly pork, import and sale of which is strictly prohibited in Pakistan.

LHC Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, in his detailed judgement, observed that the FIR is void ab initio having been registered in violation of law and the charge against the petitioner is groundless.

He said that there was no evidence to rebut the claim that the petitioner purchased the Ragu sauce from the superstore and the impugned video.

Justice Tariq ordered that the FIR and the proceedings pending before the magistrate are quashed.

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“Even if the FIA was minded to entertain the superstore’s complaint, it should not have registered FIR and instead made an entry in the relevant register that the offence was non-cognisable and then applied to the competent court for permission to investigate it. This was not done,” the judgement added.

It is worth mentioning that petitioner Usman Zulfiqar Khan had challenged the FIR, the jurisdiction of the FIA to investigate it and the competence of the magistrate to take cognisance of the alleged offence.

The petitioner’s counsel implored the court that not only the FIR but all the proceedings conducted after its registration are void. He contended that the petitioner has not committed any defamation for which he may be prosecuted.

The counsel said that the petitioner purchased Ragu sauce from a superstore which contained pork that is forbidden in Islam and as a Muslim, it was his duty to inform his countrymen to avoid it which he did.

He submitted that the said video contained a true statement of facts so none of the sections under which he has been charged are attracted. He added that the FIR is mala fide and the superstore has lodged it to intimidate and silence the petitioner.

Additional attorney general Nasar Ahmad argued that freedom of speech and expression is, subject to certain conditions, the fundamental right of every citizen under Article 19 of the Constitution.

He said that citizen journalism is an emerging new form of journalism which is being increasingly recognised all over the world. Therefore, every citizen has a right to upload a video on social media provided that it does not violate any law for the time being in force in the country.

As regards the impugned video, he submitted that there is nothing in the FIR which may suggest that the petitioner did not purchase Ragu sauce from the superstore and that the receipt in his hand is fake.

On the other hand, the counsel for respondent superstore contended to the court that this constitutional petition is not maintainable because the challan has been submitted before the competent magistrate and the petitioner has an alternative remedy under Section 249-A CrPC.

He further contended that the petitioner is a blackmailer. On December 11, 2019, he issued a legal notice to the superstore demanding Rs1,000,000 as damages for the mental anguish caused to him and his family owing to the alleged incident and when that was refused he uploaded the impugned video on Facebook, the advocate added.

The superstore had registered an FIR with the FIA under different sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca) accusing the petitioner of defamation.